X-Ray Victor Charlie:The Chronicles of Strike-3
by Johnnieboy11
Summary: Her death at the hands of an Imperial Sniper during the battle of Marberry wasn't all it seemed... Isara Gunther, a member of Squad 7 and a Hero of Gallia now stands face to face with a war bigger than she could understand and few friends to turn to but the organization that now hosts her. And a Long War awaits our young hero-to-be.
1. Prologue:Arrival

_She'd died..._

 _A bullet to the chest was all that it took..._

 _She'd just died..._

 _Isara Gunther, adopted daughter of Belgen Gunther, a Hero of Gallia, was killed by a Sniper they didn't clear out..._

 _A sad fate..._

But she didn't have time to cry about herself right now... Standing up with a groan, Isara felt her head throb like ten MAGS Machine Guns going off, as she tried to straighten herself into a seating position. The ringing in her ears was a dead-on sign of her being alive. It had the pitch and volume of what it felt like whenever a grenade or ordnance piece she invented would explode in her face. She swallowed empty, trying to clear out what felt like clogged ears, then shook her head.

The girl opened her eyes, but all she saw was blurry grey and black. She blinked twice in quick succession and the confusion vanished, her vision clearing. Breathing in, the girl saw she was laying on concrete. Specifically, a concrete sidewalk in the middle of what looked like a city street. She swept her gaze 180 degrees around her and saw buildings, storefronts and strange-looking cars sitting empty in the road. Breathing out, the girl only had one question to herself right now.

 _Where_ was everyone?

She stood up, feeling her heart skip a beat as she heard and saw no movement whatsoever around her. Where were all the people usually populating these city streets? This place was clearly a human settlement and she was alive, so she couldn't have gone anywhere in the afterlife. She tugged at her collar to loosen it, before looking over herself. She had the binoculars, her standard-issue handgun, some Ragnaid, her water canteen... Her shoal which had no hole in it somehow, her standard-issue Ragnite flashlight... and that was about it.

She saw upon a wall a scorch mark, still shining with what looked like green fire. It was across the street from her, so she quickly crossed, before drawing her pistol out of reflex. She saw both sides of the sidewalk were clear and moved her right hand, feeling over the scorch mark with her padded glove... It sizzled and burned, forcing Isara to discard it. She'd felt the heat _through_ the glove. Looking at her fingers, she saw soot on them... Just what the heck had burned this wall so badly... Isara now saw it was half-melted too, with some molten construction materials dripping onto the floor beside her feet.

She saw several more scorch marks on the floor, of similar size to this one, as well as trails of blood following through into a broken storefront window. The girl hugged the wall, pistol ready as she slowly sidestepped toward the window, whose shards weren't visible... Whatever broke it jumped from the outside into the store. As she reached the corner, Isara slowly poked her head to view the insides...

Blood spattered on chairs, an overturned table, a burning counter and miscellaneous foods and sweets. The place was an indoors market with overturned shelves further back. It was also dark as all hell inside. She took the flashlight from her breast pocket, then turned it on and moved inside. She shone the blue light onto the walls, where the blood coagulated and repainted what looked like old posters.

Isara felt a chill shoot up her spine as she slowly turned around, panning the little blue light and the handgun with where her vision went. She became twitchy, irritated... Then heard gunfire in the distance, farther. On the other side of the market. She gasped, raising the pistol as she saw flashes of gunfire in the distance, then took cover behind an overturned shelf... She couldn't tell who was firing at what, but she saw them. Scarlet tracers slammed against the walls and what looked like emerald fire hit the walls opposite and farther back.

She heard movement. Footsteps, fast and rushing to her right. With a sudden screech, a little grey thing just appeared, jumping at her with bony, grey claws and what looked like a pistol that was attached to its arm. It screeched at her, its pearly blackish-brown eyes blinked, crawling toward her. The girl turned, aiming her pistol and cocked back the hammer... She shone the light upon it, making it screech and back off, hissing as it raised the weapon on its right arm at the girl.

The girl backed off, unsure if to scream, shoot, or both as she saw the grotesque little bugger take easy steps toward her... She backed away, then uttered "S-Stay away from me...!" and firing a single shot past its head. It snickered in its alien language... And Isara tripped as she walked back, falling on her rear. She gasped, scrambling to crawl back as the creature didn't fire, but rather crawled at her, a strange, lilac energy emanating from its eyes and an oversized cerebellum...

She aimed her pistol at its big head, unable to miss now, then squeezed the trigger... The gun clicked, with Isara's heart immediately going into overdrive. She gritted her teeth as she tried to pull away from the closing creature, feeling control slip from her more and more as it hissed at her, that energy growing in strength... She tried to fire, again and again, to no avail. Her pistol jammed, she'd just seen it. The casing hadn't ejected, dammit!

She saw a tendril of energy extend from the creature's forehead toward her own... Then froze as auburn blood splattered her face and a single bullet went past her, slamming into the concrete. The alien creature stared on, its pearly eyes wide... Before slumping over dead, with the pistol on its hand breaking and exploding into shards... The girl trembled, seeing the creature's blood splattered onto her clothing... She wiped her mouth clean of it, then spat out part of the blood... It tasted like copper infused with cough medicine...

"You alright there?" She heard a voice, a young man's voice, ask... Wiping her eyes clean of the muck for better vision, she then saw a handsome, blue-eyed boy sitting above her, a rifle slung on his back and a pistol with a still-smoking barrel in his right hand. He wore a strange, silvery-grey armor with chrome on the metal and the undersuit was colored white, as were the pistol and rifle. He knelt in front of her, holstering the handgun, then checked her. His black hair was crew-cut, clean.

He took her gloveless hand into his own, then looked at the burn marks and said "You touched one of the scorch marks... Not really smart, but your glove took the brunt of it, I imagine." He then nodded to her and asked "Who are you? What's your name? Do you have any relatives nearby?" calmly. Isara paused for a moment, trying to recall... Her brother wasn't around, no, she'd have seen him, nor was the squad...

"I... I'm Isara Gunther. Corporal, Seventh Platoon, Gallian Militia." The girl said almost mechanically, voice trembling.

She saw the boy raise a brow. He looked like he'd never heard of Gallia before... Where was she anyways?

"Where am I?" Isara asked, worried as she gripped her dog tags from under her uniform's coat.

"You're in the continental US. A small town called Raleigh, to be exact." The boy answered, scaring Isara. "I'm Corporal Jackson Bradley. We're here to get you somewhere safe, Isara." He then noted and finished "Call me Jack... Now c'mon." He stood up and extended a hand to her. She took it and felt a firm grip as she was pulled to her feet. She nodded, then smiled, rubbing the back of her neck.

"Thank you, Jack..." She said, before looking at the creature killed by him and asking with a hint of disgust "What is that?"

"Sectoid. An alien." The boy noted, before looking to the right as four more soldiers appeared, clad in similar armors to his, but each carrying a different set of gear, among them also being a heavy gunner from the looks of things. Only one wore a helmet... Among the crew she could also recount a sniper, who wore a lighter, black armor. She had silver hair and black eyes, as well as a piercing stare that could probably kill a tank. Following up, a girl with what looked like a Shotgun, scarlet armor, hair and emerald eyes, as well as a friendly smile and demeanor. Finally, there was a boy who had a blue uniform and a long-barreled rifle that looked like it could fire fully automatic.

"We've gotta move." The gunner noted, leaning her LMG on the back "Central just told us area's clear."

"Did you tell him about the Civvie we just found?" Jack pointed at Isara with his thumb.

"Told'em." The girl with red hair noted, leaning her shotgun on her shoulder "Central's worried she may have something to do with the sudden surge of Psi-power that happened when the Aliens got wise of our position. Or maybe that she's a biproduct."

"Ah..." Jack sighed. "Well, let's get to the 'Ranger." He then said, before flicking on his coms and saying "Big Sky, warm up the Girl. We're moving out. Civilian in tow and a body bag..." and, at those words, Isara saw them sadden a bit. She walked over beside one of the soldiers and looked at the door... Another soldier of theirs lay, dead... Missing his head.

Jack took her attention toward him with a light tap on the shoulder. He showed her to follow him, walking out with her and the others on his tail. Ahead of them, lay a massive ship with what looked like wings that fold into themselves. Her eyes wide, Isara felt the heat coming from its engines... As they climbed aboard, Isara was seated and the bloody corpse of the soldier that died was brought in a bodybag.

"Central's not gonna be happy." Sighed the gunner, taking off his helmet to reveal black hair and green eyes.

"Yeah, well, we're at war." Jack noted coldly. "Can't expect us not to have losses..."

"You're really an ass at times, Bradley." The Gunner snarled.

"..." The boy hummed, crossing his arms and leaning back.

"Really? Not even gonna deny it?" The shotgun girl said, leaning forward "C'mon, dude."

"Not the time now, Oakrun." The Gunner noted as a shockwave made the vehicle reverberate. They... T-They... THEY JUST BROKE THE SOUND BARRIER?!

"We just broke the sound barrier..." Isara noted, awed, the hairs on the back of her neck standing straight. "What is this thing?" She asked, trying to undo a harness she just now noticed she was wearing. Jack tried to stop her, but the girl stood up and walked as quickly as she could to the front, toward the cockpit... And gasped at the marvelous machinery before her. Strange screens flashed with color and writing, displays floated in mid-air and on the glass ahead and sitting in a chair in the epicenter of all consoles and gear was a single man clad in the weirdest suit she'd ever seen. The man looked back and seemingly looked at her in surprise. He wore a khaki suit, with strange attachments, including an oxygen mask with a tube leading down to the tanks, a thick helmet with padding and a tinted black glass visor. His suit also held several patches on its arms, including the rank pins and stripes of a Lieutenant First Class, with a strange shield insignia on his right shoulder that spelled two words above an X going over a globe... _Vigilo Confido._

"Hey, kid...?" The pilot said, his voice muffled by the mask he seemed to be wearing. "You aren't supposed to be up here."

" _What's the status, Big Sky? Something happened?"_ The girl heard a disembodied voice. Her heart jumped as she looked at a console that seemed to be projecting a video feed of dark-blue hue. On it, the face of a man, probably about in his early thirties, lay plastered. He had an earpiece for communication and wore a sweater on top of what looked like a white shirt and red tie. He also had brown, buzzcut hair and eyes a shade of brown Isara could barely make out due to the video feed being colored the way it was. " _The Civilian got to the front? I thought that Strike-3 had her strapped in and secured."_

"Appears she got out, Central, stand by..." The pilot noted calmly, looking at the holo-screen. He turned to Isara, then said "Kid, do both me and you a favor and head back to your seat. We're closing in to our landing site and, trust me, you don't want to be on your feet when the girl decelerates..." The man said, patting one of the consoles without touching any buttons, before continuing calmly "With or without dampeners on. I've seen one too many rookies do that."

Isara ignored him and stared on, her pure, childlike awe at the technology on board the aircraft seemingly taking the better of her... There was so much stuff here. Consoles hummed, the hypersonic thrum of the engines was less deafened here thanks to the windows and the multitude of consoles showed so much data, Isara could swear she'd be in here for days... Provided her new friends(or captors, depending how she looked at it) would allow her to...

She twitched as she felt a gloved, heavy hand grip her shoulder and swiveled about, to see Jack on his feet, staring with a blank expression at her. He made a slight tilt to the back with his head. "C'mon. We'll be reaching the Anthill soon." He said to her calmly, before taking her back to her seat and strapping her in. The Gunner rubbed his forehead, then shook his head, annoyed.

"We really should hogtie her until we get to base." He said.

"She ain't Xeno, _compadre_. Calm down." the redhead said with a smirk to her squadmate, then looked to Isara, smirk holding "'Least I think she ain't."

"We can't prove shit until Vahlen gets a look at her." The gunner returned. "Whatever." He leaned his head back into his chair, fuming through his nose. Isara looked to Jack, who looked back and shrugged, before turning to his rifle and checking it. The girl then looked over to the Sniper, who was sitting farther in a corner, her rifle disassembled and under maintenance.

"Calm down. We will see as time progresses." Jack said to both of them.

"Aye, sir!" The girl smirked.

" _We're beginning landing procedures, Kids. Make sure your food trays are locked in place and seats are in an upright position. Thank you for flying Air XCOM."_ The pilot's voice echoed through the ship's pressurized Cabin. Isara grabbed onto her harness and held on tight as the sudden jolt of deceleration hit her. She felt slightly nauseous for a moment as the craft began its descent... She heard outside thrusters power on to full and felt slight shuddering from the hull of the ship. And then, a quiet, metallic _thnk_ echoed... And the ramp she was brought up into the ship with hissed and slid open, steam emanating from hydraulic pipes and legs as they cooled off. Jack undid his and Isara's harness, then stood up, holding his rifle by the fore-grip and extending his right hand to Is. She took it gracefully, standing up next to him, then saw them...

A blonde woman in a labcoat lay to the left of that sweater-wearing man she saw. Her hair was caught in a bun and her eyes seemed sunken. She had a white labcoat, with green shoulders and some stripes and wore a turtleneck sweater below that, as well as some baggy, wide pants and a pair of high heels. In her left hand lay what looked like a tablet and, _hanging_ from the left breast pocket of her labcoat, a pair of half-rimmed glasses. Taking the sweater man's right side was a nice-looking elderly man who was balding at the top of his head. He had rimmed glasses. and a green engineer's coat and brown pants, as well as heavy-duty steel-toed boots.

"Welcome home, Strike-3." The sweater man said. The squad lined up and saluted as they walked off the ship, before the man looked to a hesitant Isara. Jack looked to her as well and nodded, giving a signal that 'it was all okay' before holstering his weapons and crossing his arms... The girl hesitantly stepped down, joining Jack and the four staff members and gazing around at the stone roof that was reinforced by metal and concrete... Were they in some inactive Volcano?

"Ahem... Isara." Jack cleared his throat. She looked to him, then to Central and the others and blushed meekly.

"Sorry..." The girl said, pressing her index fingers together, slightly embarrassed.

"It's quite alright, miss Gunther." The sweater man said, smiling. "I am Central Officer John Bradford, acting commander. These are my associates and fellow XCOM head staff."

"Doctor Moira Vahlen." The blonde doctor nodded professionally, her badge showing her name and photo as it hanged from a second pocket below her glasses. "Chief researcher." She finished calmly, then yawned. Isara saw the Doctor's weary eyes, sunken. She'd not slept for a while, that was for sure. Heck, she recalled back in the day, back during the Siege of Vasel, she hadn't gotten a wink of sleep either.

"One who hasn't gotten an ounce of sleep for a few days going now." The balding man said, then smiled warmly to Isara and said "I am Raymond Shen. Chief engineer. A pleasure to make your acquaintance, miss Gunther." and he nodded. Okay, it was clear who the nicer of the two was. Isara looked to Jack with a raised brow. He stared on, blank expression forward, then shrugged.

"You seem really alarmed, miss Gunther..." Central observed. "I... Can understand that. You're in an unfamiliar place, with unfamiliar people. And the only one you know here happens to be a man who just saved you by killing something. We understand if you... Need a minute to accommodate yourself. Any questions you have, I and the doctors can personally and happily answer in the Briefing Room. Provided you answer some of ours too..."

Isara's brow quirked up and she looked to Jack with worry plastered all over her face, to which the boy gazed toward Central calmly "I think she's asking me to come along, sir."

"It's only fair." Bradford sighed, looking to his comrades and receiving nods from them, before turning to Jack himself.. "You're her first contact with anything here and she seems like she's in a state of shock... We might as well give her as many anchors as we can to the real world."

"She spoke very few words to me, sir..." Jack noted calmly, then looked to Isara and nodded. The girl took a moment to collect herself... Everything that had just happened came back to her in a flash. The battle of Marberry. The victory... Getting shot... Her reawakening in... What did Jack call it, the US? Raleigh or something... And now her arrival at this place. A lot had happened in just the span of a few hours... She felt dizzy... She felt sick... She had _died_!

"I... Need a minute..." Isara murmured weakly, leaning onto a box. Jack took to her side and checked on her, holding her by the arm as to keep her from falling. The girl swallowed, going pale. She felt her forehead with her hand and tried to breathe in, then out... In... then out... She tried to calm herself despite everything that was going on around her.

"You'd be better off seated in the Briefing Room, Isara." Jack noted. "You can lean on me until we reach it... Afterwards, doctor Vahlen will perform a physical checkup and we'll be done. You'll get a cot to rest in..." He then told her, his eyes betraying the worry as he held Isara. The girl smiled weakly, then nodded and whispered a hushed 'thank you' to Jack.

"If you'll... Follow us." Bradford said, worried about the girl's well-being himself, as they walked, Is leaning on the boy's shoulder. There was a lot to go over, especially for Isara, who knew little of what was going on in the world currently. Right now, one thing was on her mind:How was the Gallian War Effort going? And how was she going to get back to her Squad and Brother?


	2. The Anthill part 1:Home

As Isara walked with Jack, Central, Doctor Vahlen and Chief Engineer Shen down the corridors of their organization's Headquarters, the weight of the situation she was in weighed more and more on her. She had just been killed not too long ago, by a sniper in her own war to save her home. Killed. She was no longer home or anywhere even remotely resembling it, instead finding herself deep in a base that was embedded into a mountain she had no idea of. She felt queasy and sleepy... She just wanted this to be a nightmare, a very _nasty_ nightmare one that she'd wake up from any minute now. One after which she'd find Welkin would be home from University with Martha, cooking her something tasty and talking about bugs and nature... Or, at the very least, one she would wake up from in the Sevens' barracks, home, safe and sound and waiting the next deployment with them...

But the further the young Darcsen walked into the base of operations to the organization known as XCOM, the further she delved into thoughts and worries of her current predicament, the more she knew... That this was no simple dream. No simple nightmare, either... This was her reality, her life now. She was stuck alone, in a world unknown to her or anyone but the people living on it and with what looked like a war brewing here too... She wouldn't despair just yet though... There may be a way home... Perhaps with XCOM helping her?

Two soldiers, clad in dark-blue uniforms and what looked like flak armor, as well as with caps with the same insignia as on the Pilot's shoulders and rifles similar to Jack's, walked toward them in a row. They stopped and stepped aside, to the right of the narrow, round corridor, saluting as Bradford and they went past. Bradford gave them a quick salute and nod, allowing them to walk off to wherever their post was. Security personnel, perhaps military police.

Isara stopped with the others as Bradford walked to a door on the left, took out an identity card of sorts and slid it into a strange slit. From red, a light went to bright green and the door hissed open. They all walked inside, into what Isara soon found to be a comfortable seating room, with a half-couch going around an oval metal table on the right, whilst on the left were comfortable-looking one-leg chairs that spun. She took a seat with Jack on the couch. Sitting opposite of them were Vahlen, Bradford and Shen.

"So... Miss Gunther..." Bradford started "Can we have anything brought in? Some food... Water, perhaps?"

"I... Guess I could do with some water for now... Thank you." Isara said, still contemplating her situation. She arranged her shoal on her person, not noticing Bradford waving a base personnel member out to get some refreshments. She looked down at her hands, fingers interlaced and sitting on her lap. Bradford took pause for a moment, looking with almost fatherly worry at the girl.

"Until they bring refreshments... Mind if we begin with the questionaire we had for you?" The man offered.

"... Sure..." Isara shrugged, turning her gaze up to meet Central's. She wanted to seem calm, but ever-so-subtle motions of her eyes and a slightly quivering lip gave away the troubles the girl had. He sighed, arranging the collar of the shirt worn under his sweater. He then took a tablet that rested on the table and unlocked it by entering an XCOM-only PIN code. He then looked to Isara.

"First of all, miss Gunther..." Bradford started.

"Isara..." The girl interrupted him. Bradford raised a brow questioningly. She said calmly "Call me Isara... Miss Gunther was my stepmother..." and she then gave a small smile...

"Right..." Bradford noted. "Isara. Where'd you come from? That uniform underneath your shoal tells me you're part of some kind of military force... And the soldiers said you mentioned it, but they forgot the exact name of the country." The Officer asked with as calm a demeanor as he had so far shown. The Darcsen girl took pause for a moment. Of course that'd be one of the first questions... And an easy answer that'd also answer her question...

"I come from the Principality of Gallia... I'm a Militia soldier serving in it... Or was." She said, frowning as she looked at the edge of the table. "It's... A really long story, so please, don't delve too much into it..." She then asked politely. Bradford hummed, then looked to Vahlen and shrugged. She took a note in her tablet, then looked to Isara, her deep blue eyes calm.

"We... Don't have a nation named Gallia. Not here, on Earth, at least." Bradford explained "What can you tell us of it?"

Isara looked up, then explained "The Principality of Gallia is a Neutral nation situated between two major empires... In my world, should I say?" She sighed, clearly annoyed by what she just told them "Anyways... We're a small, but proud nation. We've held our own against the Eastern Empire before, having had a war over our independence from it. It's a really long story that I'd be glad to share, but... I'm thinking you're in a crisis for time? From the creature I've seen, you guys are at war..."

"An astute assumption..." Vahlen noted, her Austrian accent thick.

"Indeed. We are at war, Isara. A war for our very world." Bradford said with an even more serious demeanor. "It's hard to explain where we're standing with the war, since we don't know much about it ourselves. All we know is we've encountered two Alien species so far and we're-"

"Alien as in Extra-Terrestrial?" Isara's eyes widened. Bradford nodded silently... And to that, Isara felt her heart in her throat. She swallowed empty, then looked to Jack, who seemed calm. So that's what they were all fighting... Damn... And Isara thought her war was a big deal. She then looked to Bradford and nodded, seemingly a hint more calm... Jack was kind of contagious.

"So..." Bradford continued "A second question would be how old you are, Isara... But I can estimate around 16? 17?"

"16, sir." Isara nodded...

"... Were you fighting a war before coming here?" Bradford asked, now noticing the uniform's patches just as a tray of glasses of water. Isara took one in both hands, then nodded and took out some documents she had with her for identification, as well as some old photos with dates on them. Bradford wearily took them in his hand and saw it... A photo of a squadron of 20+ people, a tank and... A Pig with wings? He'd have to ask about that later... The tank, meanwhile, seemed manned by Isara and a tall, lanky boy with platinum-blonde hair.

He sighed deeply, then looked to Isara after seeing all the people here in a similar uniform and said "Gallian Militia?"

"Squad 7... My squad." Isara warmly noted with half a smile. It then turned into a frown as she realized how she must've left them... By the Valkyrur, she wished she were home now, to hug her brother. Bradford hummed as he saw her, then realized... She looked to Vahlen and the two whispered something to each-other, then to Shen... The old man seemed surprised as he looked to his fellow staff members, then to Isara.

"Do you recall anything... Sudden... happening before your arrival here, Isara?" Bradford asked with reluctance... And at that he saw Isara's skin go bone-white, her mouth agape as she tried to articulate something, but failed to. She slowly bowed her head, trying to hide her face going red, her eyes bloodshot and the tears forming at the corner of her eye. Jack turned to her and checked over her with a worry the boy hadn't exhibited before.

"I'm sorry if it's something you don't wish to remember, Isara." Bradford said sadly "We can skip over this... And you can tell us when you feel more prepared to."

Isara nodded, wiping her eyes. She sniffled and breathed in, then out, to calm herself. She swallowed, then looked to Bradford and said "I'm sorry. It's tough to remember right now... But I promise I'll tell you more... I do have a question for you, mister Bradford." then saw John and Jack both raise a brow. The Central Officer showed her to continue... And Isara asked, more like silently begged as she stared at Bradford "Do... Do you think... There might be a way for you to... I know I may be asking too much, but... Perhaps... Could you get me home?"

Bradford paused, surprised by Isara's request. He looked to Vahlen, then shrugged.

"... If my calculations are correct, miss Isara... And if my brain is still functioning after ten days and ten nights of near-continuous activity under a caffeine high, I believe you may have suffered a dimensional translocation." Vahlen noted... Isara was awed at two things:The woman's vocabulary and THE FACT SHE HADN'T SLEPT FOR TEN BLOODY DAYS!? HOW WAS THIS WOMAN STILL ALIVE?! The Doctor chuckled, seeing Isara's reaction, then said "Let me explain that to you... Something the Aliens were doing in the town of Raleigh must have somehow affected you in your world... Now, this is also very theoretical, but it also excites me as a prospect. Unless your world is an alien planet somewhere far away from Earth... You may very well be the very first person to have crossed to an alternate universe, proving the String Theory correct."

Isara's eyes widened... "And can that be helped...?"

"With further study into what the Aliens were doing to have caused this... And more of their technology, perhaps I can replicate the effect within our Lab. Mind you, this is theoretical, but..." She saw Isara's eyes widen and a smile form on her face. A look of pure joy... Vahlen continued "It is more than likely very possible. Provided Central Officer Bradford agrees with my efforts into the matter, I will do my best."

"Keep it as a side project you will work on during spare time, doctor. We still have a war to fight and our men aren't quite cut out for combat yet..." Bradford noted, then looked to Isara... Who seemed to have gotten an idea, from the way she stared at Bradford. Oh, no...

"Central Officer... I wish to offer something in return for the help." Isara noted. Jack raised a brow and Bradford stared at her with worry... Shen and Vahlen with surprise. The girl continued calmly "I... I have held a weapon before. I wish to help you. To join your organization's ranks as a soldier, if you have place for a Combat Engineer within the teams..."

Bradford looked at her, a sadness in his eyes Isara would only see from Captain Varrot as he told her "We do have plenty of space on our teams, Isara... It's just that XCOM's casualty rates are... High... Currently. I don't know how to and frankly I won't say it nicely, but I have to tell you what you're asking to do is dangerous. You may not see your home again if you do decide to join. And with our current ratio of soldiers lost, you can't expect any guarantees that you'll survive based on sole combat experience alone. Trust us, some of our boys and girls learned that the hard way."

Isara looked to him, Vahlen and Shen, then leaned onto the table with both hands and told them "I fully assume all risks, mister Bradford." with a look so serious on her face, it was almost surprising. Bradford looked to the girl, then to the Jack. He saw the boy shrug, then nod wordlessly and sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration. He looked to Isara...

"Very well... PFC Gunther." He said sternly, then checked his tablet and switched to a set of files, sliding it toward her and saying "You need to sign these... It's a disclaimer I hate giving, but that the Council's kind of forcing me to hand out to all soldiers, new and old." and he flinched as he saw Isara not even hesitating to take the E-Pen and signing where she was supposed to sign, before handing the tablet back. She straightened her posture, then brought her hand up to her forehead and saluted. Bradford sighed deeply, knowing he may well regret this decision, then stood up and saluted too, then said "Welcome to XCOM, PFC Gunther. At ease. There will be more questions for you, but for now, go take a rest... You must've had a hell of a long day."

Isara smiled, lowering her hand after Bradford. The man looked to Jack, who stood up and said "Would you mind leading her to the Bunks, Sergeant? Oh, also, do give her a tablet for her bunk that contains the List... I'll send someone to give her a tour later." in a calm tone, to which Jack returned a nod and showed Isara to follow. She smiled to him as well, then fell in behind the boy. Bradford watched them leave the room, then sighed and rubbed his forehead. He looked to Vahlen and Shen and said "I think if the Council finds out about this, I'm going to get chewed the hell out..."

"For letting a child soldier into XCOM? Or for allowing a transdimensional being we know nothing about in XCOM?" Vahlen noted with a hint of snark. Bradford rolled his eyes and Shen chuckled. Vahlen looked at herself in a screen's darkened reflection, putting her hand up to one of her baggy eyes, then said "Goodness me, Perhaps I should get some sleep... I get irritated easily if I don't."

"Probably for the best that you go take a nap, Doc." Central said, trying to ignore her remarks. "Both of you are dismissed." He then nodded. The two walked out of the place, with Bradford allowing himself a deep sigh as he took a swig of cold water from a glass. Not long into the war and they were that desperate that they pulled a kid from some god-forsaken other dimension into the war...

Christ, what fresh Hell did he walk into now?

... Jack and Isara both marched down one of the main corridors of the base, out into a massive Hall that shook Isara... She looked up at what looked to be a massive globe made of blue, with outlines of continents present on it. She stared at it, dumbfound, then saw the massive hall was occupied by men and women working on several hundred consoles. The two were on a catwalk overlooking everything. They saw Techs rushing to and fro, security guards overlooking the place with rifles from catwalks higher above them and even more guards on the floor, nearby some back doors.

"This is the Geoscape... The heart of XCOM." Jack told Isara. "You'll learn more about it from the tour. C'mon..."

The girl nodded, then followed him onward, further into another doorway... There, she saw several soldiers clad in olive drab uniforms, with short-sleeved green shirts bearing the XCOM logo and baggy pants, as well as military standard boots... Jack took her further in, toward what looked like a door to a room, one of several in a row of five, with stairwells leading up to two more levels, one above, one below, of similar rows. He opened the door utilizing a card, then Isara saw them inside... Jack's squad.

"Ay, yo!" The redhead girl said cheerfully, standing up, wearing only a bra and her baggy pants. Her shirt was on the bed... She walked toward Jack and Isara and said "Welcome back, Chief!" To Jack, then looked to Isara and asked in the most friendly manner possible "What's up, girl? You look like you're about to give us some damn good news!"

"Actually..." Jack noted "Central approved her file. She's in XCOM, but she still has more answers to give." before both he and Isara saw the girl's smile widen. She let out a high-pitched 'YEEESSS!' as she jumped around. The other squadmates of Jack's regarded them with surprise... Then the sniper girl gave a simple thumbs up and the Gunner shrugged, then leaned back into his bed and listened to music, visibly pissed.

The redhead girl dragged Isara in with a joyful look in her eyes, then said "Welcome to the crew, girlie! I'm Ayane Goto, Strike-3's resident Boomstick Carrier! That's Shotgun for the less-knowledgeable in the arts of good films!" The girl said joyfully and full of energy "Do call me Aya, Ayaya, or 'Backbreaker'." words to which Isara could only respond with... A smile... A reeaaally awkward smile... Okay, this took away from her current predicament, but it was nice meeting someone friendly for a change... Aside from Jack that was. Someone genuinely happy to see her, she meant.

"A... Pleasure to meet you, Aya." Isara said awkwardly... Before being pulled into a bear hug by the girl who said "LIKEWISE!" in the most cheerful voice Isara had ever heard... For a soldier, this girl was something that surpassed all expectations... She saw the Gunner smirk and the Sniper silently laugh... Then heard the Gunner speak calmly to her...

"I'm Armin Voss. Call me Corporal, Voss, or Hammerhead. Never Armin." He said, nodding to Isara "And don't do stupid shit. Stupid shit gets you killed."

"... Okay." Isara nodded, worried.

"That back there's Joana Comescu... Call her Deadshot or Joana." Hammerhead smirked. "Now get in gear... Central'll pro'lly want to brief your ass on everything he left out during the questionaire." before he turned to his music and sat quietly. Isara smiled... She may well be right at home with this squad... What looked like a bunch'a'misfits from random parts of the world...

"What anime should I show you first...?" Aya wondered aloud...

Jack froze... Was this a good or a bad thing?


	3. The Anthill Part 2:The Tour

Earlier today, Isara had gotten issued her own on-site casual uniform. The same khaki pants, shirt and boots as the rest of XCOM. The only difference was, she was still wearing her Shoal. The only item of clothing from home left for her to wear as her uniform and gear were taken in for studying. She'd heard the Chief Engineer had discarded her handgun, as it was inoperable. Funny, she recalled cleaning that thing back... Back at Amaranthine. She sighed, then shook her head and started looking around. Other than that, her Ragnaid cans were taken by the Chief Engineer to check them.

Her tour guide, an older officer, perhaps 35 or 40 years old, a man with black hair and brown eyes, as well as a darker skin tone, had walked in to guide her to a tour of the XCOM Headquarters. He was buff, more well-built than the others and sported a Horseshoe-shaped 'stache. He also spoke very softly to her and the other soldiers of Strike-3... She'd heard Armin and several others give her the nickname 'Rookie'. Or that's what they called all new arrivals.

The duo walked down the corridor Isara had come into the Barracks through and the man turned to her and said "I don't think I introduced myself. I'm Staff Sergeant Aiden McMillan. They nicknamed me 'Papa Bear'." then gave the girl a warm smile. Isara smiled back, then nodded and answered "A pleasure, Staff Sergeant. I'm Isara." and walked to join him... She seemed to be feeling better, strangely enough. The thoughts of her death and sudden appearance here, not to mention her desire to get home, were still present within her mind, but seemed to be less important to her current state of mind. It could've been due to Jack's, Aya's and the others' welcoming, calm behavior that made her feel more at ease.

She knew she had to get home, tell her brother she was fine... But it didn't seem like such a pressing concern at the moment. She needed to get to know her new home, the people she was going to be working with and the precarious situation of the Earth as a whole before even considering going home. And now, she started noticing some of the cool tech omnipresent within XCOM. Automatic sliding doors, scanners, what looked like highly-advanced cameras meant for security at every corner... Isara had just now begun to feel awed by the technological marvels ahead of her, remembering the ship she came aboard... An honest-to-god flying vehicle! These people were amazing!

As they stepped into the Geoscape, Papa Bear turned to Isara and said "This is where we begin our tour. You already know the Barracks, or at least the Bunks. This is the big one. The Heart of XCOM. I think you and Jack passed through here and he told you a short bit about it, but let me put it into perspective for you, kiddo. This place is an always-up-to-date Combat Information Center, linked to an espionage and reconnaissance satellite network so advanced, it can track a fly at over 3,000 Kilometers away from XCOM HQ."

Isara stared on with awe as she saw the 3-dimensional Terran globe spinning slowly, each satellite positioned above a country of strategic importance to XCOM. One of the countries was surrounded by a scarlet whirlwind on one of the continents... She raised a brow and asked "What happened there?" to which McMillan returned calmly "That's India... Went dark about three weeks into the War. Haven't been able to get answers as to why, but we figure the Aliens had something to do with it."

"I see..." Isara took pause, staring at the blotted country with worry. If it took the aliens only 3 weeks to deal with a country of what looked like a massive size that quickly, she dreaded what they could do to smaller nations. To Gallia, even. She looked upon Central as he walked onto the deck, then stood at attention and saluted. Central smiled warmly and saluted back.

"At ease, Private." Central said "You two doing the tour?"

"Yessir." Papa Bear noted, walking beside Central. The Officer regarded the Staff Sergeant with a curt nod, then said "Well, don't let me keep you. I've got to go to the Sit-Room... Councilor's calling about you-know-what..." tilting his head to Isara ever so slightly. Papa Bear grinned, then nodded and gave a mock salute too, before showing Isara to follow. Central walked off, a tablet Isara had just now noticed in hand...

"Uhh, Staff Sergeant?" Isara asked, looking to Papa Bear, who raised a brow toward Isara, then tilted his head forward to allow her to continue... Isara nodded, then asked "Will... I be issued one of those odd tablets? They look really cool. And I wanna figure out their technology before going anywhere." with quite a weary face and a healthy flush. Papa Bear chuckled.

"Standard Issue XCOM touch-screen Tablet. I think Jack and his team will be more than happy to explain the concepts of our technology to you, Isara. Them, Vahlen or Shen." The burly man said, smiling warmly at the kid and ruffling her hair a bit. Isara giggled, then smiled. Yeah, XCOM was a warm place, so far. Even with Armin being a bit of a pain. Isara paused as she saw a man with ginger hair that was trimmed, a goatee beard and a mustache similar to McMillan's stepping forward. Aiden looked to the man and smirked, then greeted "Hey, Beags! Where're you off to?"

"Oh, hey, Bear." The man said, his accent weird, then shook Bear's hand with a joyful demeanor "Off to the Barracks, actually. Central wanted me to pep-talk Strike-3 before a new recruit arri-"He paused, noticing Isara, then raised a brow and said "Well, hi there, little lady. Nice shoal. I like the patterns on it." with a calm smile. "You look new around here. What's your name, kiddo?"

"Isara Gunther. I'm the new PFC. And thanks." The girl smiled, then saluted.

The ginger main saluted back, smiling still, then said "I'm Lieutenant John Teasdale, but most of XCOM knows me as the Beagle. Or Beags, as Papa Bear just called me. Welcome to XCOM there, Gunther."

"You're going to talk to Jack and Strike-3?" Isara asked calmly. Beags nodded.

"Yep. Central asked me to talk to them about a new recruit coming in..." He told the girl, before rubbing his chin and asking "Say, you wouldn't happen to be that new arrival, right? Brad did mention that the arrival was a girl with dark-blue hair and eyes. And you fit the description..." with a smirk. Isara nodded, rubbing the back of her neck awkwardly and giving a half-mouthed smile. Beags sighed, then said "Well, welcome aboard, kiddo." before looking to Bear and shrugging, a look of worry in his eyes. Papa shook his head, then waved Beags off. The man sighed deeply, annoyed by something Isara couldn't put her finger on, then waved goodbye to them as he walked off to the Barracks.

"Ignore Beags... He's a bit old-school." McMillan said, then urged her forward. The two walked further out, toward an Elevator. Joining them were a man wearing a foreman's yellow hat and engineering fatigues and a woman clad in an XCOM labcoat. The woman had scarlet hair and a pair of half-rimmed glasses on her nose, as well as what looked like a simple clipboard. The Engineer, meanwhile, had dirty soles, probably from working down in the hangar. The Elevator dinged as it went to a floor below... Isara walked out with Bear and the Scientist, entering the most advanced laboratory she'd ever seen.

Several consoles with operators resided near by the front of the entryway as Isara walked down the stairwell... She saw Doctor Vahlen, seemingly more fresh as she looked over gathered data on her own highly-advanced tablet... Isara walked to one of the consoles and watched as if in a trance as it worked, its OS beeping and running diagnostics and data, little of which she could make out. She smiled, moving a hand toward the console slowly... Then she heard "Miss Gunther, if you'd please not..." in Vahlen's thick accent. Isara turned to see the woman, calmly looking at her, seemingly more well-rested.

"Oh, sorry, doctor." Isara said, stepping away and smiling "Your technology is incredible... How? How does XCOM posses this stuff?"

"Miss Gunther, I will answer that question with a question... What year were you in on your world? Because, as I looked over my theory, you must've come from a long time ago..." Vahlen told her. Isara raised a brow, then said "1935... Early August 1935." watching as Vahlen sighed deeply. She heard the doctor mutter something to herself in a language she didn't understand, then she turned to her.

"As I figured... Miss Gunther, we're in early 2015. 14th of May, to be quite precise." Vahlen said... And she saw Isara's expression of shock, before continuing "But I assure you, everything is fine." showing the girl to calm down "I have made very basic research into the matter, but it's just enough to know what I am facing. A fluctuation of Psionic energy in the area of Raleigh you appeared in seems to have something to do with what happened to you, whatever that may be, that caused your transfer. I believe, with enough time and resources dedicated to that, I can determine... And perhaps reverse-engineer the effect to open a way to home. In the meantime, I'd like to ask you to come for a physical checkup whenever you feel like it."

Isara's shock turned into a smile... She wanted to hug the doctor, but figured that'd be against the rules... Vahlen turned to Papa Bear and said "Staff Sergeant. I presume you were taking the tour with our new recruit?"

"Yes, ma'am..." Papa Bear said quickly, his voice cracking, gripping the railing and trembling, whilst also sweating profusely, all signs of absolute fear. Vahlen stared in a deadpan, then planted a palm on her forehead, excused herself from Isara and walked away, muttering something angrily about something Isara didn't understand due to the language barrier... She turned instead to Papa Bear, raising a brow as the man walked toward her.

"Doc Vahlen has... A reputation here, Is." Papa Bear tried to explain himself. "Just... Don't ask too much about it and read the List. And don't ever push doc Vahlen's buttons... Trust me." he warned, before inhaling and calming himself. "Anyways. This is XCOM's brain. The XCOM Research Labs. They're the area where all the cool stuff we have gets pegged as an idea and given time to be cracked."

"Huh." Isara noted. "That's pretty cool."

"Wait 'till you see Engineering and the Armory." Papa noted with a grin. "C'mon, kiddo." and with that, the two walked out of the Research Labs, up into the elevator and out the other side... Isara gasped as they moved down a catwalk and stairwell into a cavernous room, with what looked like an office set onto the main catwalk that went around it. The roof was made of stone reinforced by metal railings and several security cameras panned around. In the center of it all were 4 automated conveyor belts with what looked like machine hydraulic arms working on constructing different devices. Engineers resided across from them on consoles, on the catwalks and on the railings, doing their thing... And Isara saw Chief Shen sitting by a conveyor, looking over what seemed to be a rifle.

"Wow..." Isara's eyes went wide at the magnificence of the technology around her...

Doctor Shen turned toward her and Papa Bear, then smiled and walked toward them, before greeting "Good day, Isara, Aiden."

"Hey, Doc Shen." Aiden nodded.

"Hello." Isara waved.

"I take it you're on the Tour? How is XCOM so far?" Shen asked in a fatherly tone, looking to Isara.

"Oh, it's incredible." Isara smiled "The technology here is so advanced... Which is a given for it being somewhere around 80 years past my and my people's." She then noted. "How is that look into the Ragnaid cans you received from my rather short equipment list?" and the question made Shen nod, before taking out one of the canisters, which was now disassembled and missing the Ragnite crystal inside.

"I sent the mineral to Doctor Vahlen to study. It was an intriguing chemical item, but I lack the expertise to verify its exact composition." Doctor Shen answered, words to which Isara nodded, then looked around. The Doctor then smiled and said to her "This is XCOM Engineering. Where all of the items XCOM operatives use during missions off-base. And where most come back to get repaired."

"The more I see of XCOM, the more astounded I am." Isara smiled "The production line efficiency here seems incredible... But what are those mechanical arms working on the Conveyors?" She then asked, pointing at one of the Welder Bot arms. Shen looked to it, then turned to Isara and responded "Well, Isara, these are Simple Artificial Intelligence-based Robots that work on the conveyor system, each with a purpose. Say welding, bolting into place or disassembly."

"Wow... Amazing." Isara said "Wait... Artificial Intelligence? Doctor, wha...?"

"Very advanced tech, Isara." Aiden smirked "Computer Data and such. Stuff that Jack and co. are gonna have to teach you about. Them, or Doc Vahlen." And he shuddered. Shen frowned, then rolled his eyes and said "Staff Sergeant, I thought being a member of Strike-1 meant you'd listen to the List and not spread rumors. I hope you haven't told anything to Isara about my colleague. As much as I and her disagree on certain things, her reputation should not be one such as the one spread around by Operatives and random base staff."

"Sorry, sir..." Papa Bear rubbed the back of his neck and shrugged "It's just force of habit."

"... What even is this _List_?" Isara asked, curiosity having overtaken her best efforts to stay silent, looking to Shen "I have yet to read any of it."

Doctor Shen took pause for a moment, then said "When you get to your bunk, Isara, it would be best to read it... Trust me, it may help you here, in XCOM."

"Ooooouuu-kaaayyy?" Isara looked at both of them with slight discomfort "So... What's next, Staff Sergeant?"

"Next?" McMillan smirked "The Fun Spot. Good day, doc."

"A good day to you as well... And Isara." Shen said. The girl looked to him, to which the Doctor gave a warm smile and said "Feel free to drop by Engineering any time. I could use the company, provided you wish to join me and my staff. You were an engineer formerly, after all." and he waved goodbye. Isara nodded, waved back and walked with Isara. As they traced their steps back to the Barracks and somewhere past it down a waving corridor, Isara found herself in a room chock-full of weaponry of all kinds, as well as armor similar to that which Jack and his squad were wearing. Isara was awed as the chromed armor pieces appeared ahead of her, both for males and females and the weapons, lacking magazines, seemed to still shine ever so slightly... They were arranged in neat rows, on shelves, all lined up after Armor type, weapon type and miscellaneous equipment, as well as grenades. There was what looked like magazines in reinforced boxes below and Isara could hear faint hissing and chatter farther forward.

"This is XCOM's Armory..." McMillan's smirk transformed during the trip, into a boisterous grin. "The place where all the Magic of RnD finally rests." He then said, walking toward one of the weapon racks and drawing a weapon from its spot. He looked over it, a slim, black rifle with a flashlight attached to the right, a strange glowing scope atop it, a skeleton stock, foregrip and a magwell. He took out a mag from one of the boxes, slid it into the weapon and locked it with a click and a hiss... And the weapon seemed to activate. Red lines, resembling Heat Sinks, quickly lined the weapon's body and steam started to emanate from the two longest sinks at the front.

Isara was handed the weapon by the man, grip first. She took it, expecting it to be heavy with how it looked, but she found it to be incredibly light as she held it in one hand. Awed by the weapon's holographic scope, she looked to McMillan with a raised brow. His grin withstanding, he said jovially "That is XCOM's first energy weapon. The Laser Rifle. It fires a focused particle beam at the speed of light toward a target. Not much anything can do to dodge against it. And this thing cuts through armor and steel like it's paper. We have several variations, including a Scattershot Laser, which is basically a Shotgun, a Gatling Laser, an LMG and a Laser Sniper and Marksman Rifle set. Long-range power. They all use similar battery packs for charging."

Isara went from surprised, to intrigued, to downright shocked... She held an energy weapon in her hand... A rifle that could fire a beam of focused light similar to that of a Valkyria's at a target and probably tear it inside out. Mac told her "The shooting range is up ahead, if you wanna give this baby a go." and Isara's jaw threatened to dislocate... Was McMillan really asking this?

She smiled, then looked to him and said "Let's go." without hesitating. As they walked in, the girl found herself face-to-face with several other soldiers, Rookies and soldiers with some seniority training to fire their weapons at cutouts of the little grey men with big black eyes. She saw a row open and Mac offered to her. She nodded, walking up to it, then looking at the target... The little grey alien sat there, staring at her in a T-Pose... She took a firing position she knew good for rifles, took the angled foregrip of the weapon into her left hand and shouldered the rifle, then aimed down the holographic scope... And squeezed the trigger.

The rifle hissed, steam ejecting around Isara's hand and forming a small cloud below her. An angry beam of scarlet light lanced toward the cutout alien and struck with all the might of lightning, igniting the cardboard print-out on fire from the right hand of the alien, drilling a neat hole into it and the concrete wall behind. The rifle had no kick whatsoever, save for the coolant steam pushing it up ever so slightly. Ceasing fire, Isara, now with eyes wide, lowered the rifle, aiming it down at the steel floor, then turned to Mac, who gave her a thumbs up.

XCOM was something else entirely... Weapons running on batteries, not requiring ammo that could make the weapon jam or malfunction. Their armors, made of an alloy light enough to be carried by man, but powerful enough to deny an enemy's own weapon for a short enough time as to allow the soldier to react in combat, should they get hit... XCOM was a military force. And one to be reckoned with... And if this is what they'd done in _nearly 3 months_ of active combat against the Aliens, the Darcsen girl could only think of their advances... But she hoped they wouldn't come too late...

After a short talk with a few Rookies, Isara was taken to the Rec Room by Mac... There, she saw a wall of metal filled with pictures and below the pictures, a table full of shot glasses, covered by an XCOM flag and with a combat knife embedded within it. Aside from that, there were nameplates between the picture, placed onto the wall, each bearing a different name, nickname, Soldier Class and rank...

"SSgt. Fernando "Black Eye" Gutierez... Sniper... Sgt. Alia "Ghostmaker" Soledad..." Isara read out... Then realized...

"That's the Memorial..." Mac said solemnly "Dozens of men we've lost... Each picture and nameplate is one of them. Hell, some I knew before XCOM..."

"..." Isara counted about 30 names... 30 names in 3 months. Central wasn't lying when he said their job was dangerous. "30 people..."

"30 men and women who gave their lives for Earth, Isara..." Mac said "This is what you signed up for. A possible one-way ticket..."

The girl swallowed... She felt her heart sink for a moment as the realization of the implications she faced hit her...

... In the Situation Room, Central Officer Bradford sat, staring at the screen ahead, where the Panic Counters showed estimates of the current level or panic in each Member Nation of the XCOM council... He didn't like what he saw. The highest panic was right near their home base in the USA, with nearly all 5 bars filled out... The second worst was Germany. The third, Russia. Least worrying was fucking India, as it was taken out of the council by some Alien shenanigan... But that wasn't his worry now.

" _Central Officer. Are the reports you sent to us... Accurate?"_ Asked the deep voice of the Councilor, a dark figure against an even darker background...

"Yes, sir. Every last word." Bradford sighed... Isara, that poor girl. She had no idea...

" _This is... Disconcerting, to say the least. A girl this young... Serving with XCOM? What will the news outlets say if this ever gets... Revealed? What more, that she comes from... A different world?"_ The Councilman asked.

Bradford shrugged "I cannot answer you that, sir... All I know is we're lacking manpower and the Aliens are gaining more and more ground... Aside from having her as a soldier to bolster our ranks, it's the easiest way to keep our eyes on her. We still don't know what the aliens did to bring her here, but we're sure as hell not going to leave them a girl this young to be experimented on. Or used for whatever they wanted to use her for."

" _You are suggesting she would be... Safer... With XCOM, than in a foster care?"_ The Councilman asked, more rhetorically than not. Bradford nodded. "Yes, especially with the two Terror attacks and dozens of abductions we faced not so long ago..." He then snapped back, but with a calm demeanor. He shook his head. He hated this as much as the Councilor, not for the PR but for the girl's own safety. XCOM wasn't a public organization. Not yet anyhow. And God forbid it ever needed or was forced to become one...

" _... We see your point... Central Officer. Very well. For now, this situation will be... Observed. If it develops to our detriment we will... Relieve the girl from under your command... Be careful what you sow... For you will reap it. Remember... We will be watching."_ The Councilor said... And the transmission cut, the screen switching back to a map of all countries in XCOM. The red spot that was India irked Bradford... But his current predicament even more so... Something was working against them and he knew it... And the Councilor was right. If XCOM got revealed _and_ with a Child Soldier in their care, shit would hit the fan... And hard...

God damn his job... Bradford knew it wouldn't be easy, but this... It was too much.

... Alas... Other matters needed his attention for now.

 _"CENTRAL TO THE RESEARCH LABS. CENTRAL TO THE RESEARCH LABS."_ The Base's robotic voice beckoned... He packed his bags and walked toward the elevator, ignoring the map...


	4. Patient Hydra:Into the Breach

The ceiling was an interesting tidbit of XCOM's. Isara had half expected it to be of stone, but instead found it made of the same metal as the rest of the base. Apparently, it was titanium plating, a material not yet discovered by her own people... Now that she as an XCOM PFC had time to rest in her bunk, staring idly up at the ceiling and contemplating her life didn't seem like such a bad idea. She heard the movement of her team-mates around her, with Aya watching another one of her anime, Jack checking his medical kits, Joana off to sharpshooter training and Armin half asleep in his own bunk.

She looked to Aya, who had a pair of wireless headphones on, connected to an XCOM Tablet. The girl could hear the noises from the animated Japanese show from her own bunk, which was no more than two feet away from her own. The redhead turned to Isara, smile withstanding, then waved. Isara smiled and waved back, then turned her gaze to see Jack walking toward an XCOM terminal within the room and sitting down to check on it.

Isara stood up straight, then looked at the right side of her Shoal, tugging slightly at the cloth item as to see all of its right side. She moved her right hand under and over the cloth, inside and out, but found no hole, no telltale sign of the bullet that took her life and sent her here. She sighed, patting down the article of clothing to straighten it out, then she stood up from her bunk and stretched, letting out a yawn and walking toward Jack.

It'd been 3 days since she'd dropped into XCOM and Strike 3 as a unit. Might as well see what her CO was doing...

She took to his left side, hands clasped together under the shoal and looked at him work on the console, typing in several commands into what seemed to be an XCOM Communication application. He was talking to Bradford, as it seemed. She wanted to ask what about, but figured it was probably stuff between a Commanding Officer and the higher-ups, so she chose not to pry...

They sat there calmly for a few minutes, before Jack paused, perking up and going ramrod straight as the hairs on the back of his neck stood straight. He turned to Isara, then to the squad and yelled "Operation! We've got incoming!" making Isara gasp as she saw the Squad stand up, all of them awoken by his sudden call. She also heard the door to their Barracks hiss and slide open, then saw Joana already clad in her Sniper gear, her jet-black laser sniper rifle already loaded... An alarm rang. Orange lights flared and blinked on and off and the mechanical female voice of the base hollered " _ALIEN ABDUCTION IN PROGRESS. LOCATION:EDINBURGH, UK. STRIKE-3 TO THE FLIGHT DECK. STRIKE-3 TO THE FLIGHT DECK."_

Jack looked to Isara and said "Let's go gear up. Joana, get to the Flight Deck and tell Big Sky to hold for us." then took Isara by the hand. Joana saluted and nodded wordlessly, before rushing off with them out of their Bunks and into the Armory. Quick to the grab as they went inside, Isara switched from her fatigues quickly into an undersuit uniform that was dyed scarlet, then took and put on what XCOM operatives had fondly nicknamed the 'Carapace' armor, strapping the set onto her body quickly... Then realizing her Shoal was in her gloved hand. She looked to Jack, who nodded to her and said "Stow it in your pocket or around your belt. We have to go quick." calmly. He was already wearing his white Medic's uniform and armor.

Isara nodded, wrapping the shoal around the back of her belt as a sort of butt cape, before taking her standard-issue Laser Rifle from the locker, as well as four batteries and stowing said four batteries in her chest rig, before grabbing a laser pistol and two grenades, which she also clipped to the belt. She nodded to everyone, seeing herself already fit for combat.

Jack nodded to her, then waved the rest of the squad forward. They ran down the corridors, where XCOM personnel also moved for the Research Labs, Engineering, Geoscape and the Barracks in itself, before exiting onto the Geoscape, for Isara to hear the alarms of XCOM blaring in full effect. She saw Bradford nodding to them, with a grin. Her Laser Weapon at the ready, the girl moved down the final corridor with her squad, then looked to find the Skyranger already powered on, its engines heating the floor around them. Joana guided everyone on board, Sniper stowed on her back and as Isara finally clambered aboard, Joana joined her on her right. She nodded to the kid, then extended a balled fist... Isara looked with awe and Joana urged her on... The girl bumped it with a smile, Joana grinning at her and giving a thumbs up.

The squad took their seats, put on their harnesses and stowed their weapons beside them, in specialized lockers, as the bird's gangplank hissed shut behind them, locking and pressurizing. Isara felt her ears pop, then swallowed... She recalled at the last second, the 30 people on the Memorial Wall... 30 who went on this same trip and perhaps never came back... Some bore the same rank as her. PFC... Many, in fact, did. She looked to Jack, a hint of worry in her expression... All of it vanished as she saw their commander checking his rifle and finally, the six medkits he carried in a specialized medical bag on his back.

"This is it, people! Time to break in the new girl!" Armin smirked "Ready to give'em hell, Rookie?!"

"Aye! I'm ready!" Isara called out, looking at the Gunner proudly. He grinned, then nodded and put his helmet onto his heat, before hitting it twice to set it into place.

"That's the spirit, Is!" Aya grinned. "Let's fuck their shit up! _Tora! Tora! Tora!_ " She pumped her right fist up into the air.

"Shit, the 'Nip's getting Imperial again." Armin joked. "Get the Nukes."

"Shut the fuck up, Kraut." The girl snapped back with snark and a proud grin "'Least I got the _balls_ to love my history."

Isara smiled, her fear immediately dissipating at seeing her bubbly comrade from Japan pump herself up for the upcoming dive into hell. She felt at ease... The squad seemed professional enough, even with all the boisterous talk from them... Isara couldn't help but feel safe as she watched them check gear and armor whilst in-flight. She looked to the right of her and gasped, to see a holographic projection showing time to arrival on mission... 1 hour and 30 minutes.

She felt a nudge on her elbow, then looked to to Jack, to see him turned toward him. He nodded to her, then said "I'd suggest sleeping until we arrive at the Abduction Site. Trust me, it does wonders for your mental health and ease during the battle, pre-op. We'll wake you when we land. Either that or talk to Aya... But trust me, it's more relaxing to just sleep."

"Oi, not fair, boss." Aya pouted, to which Armin chuckled.

Isara sighed, then said "I'll take your advice to heart... Thanks, Ja-uhh... Sir..." She blushed. Jack nodded, then gave a thumbs up and leaned his head back to sleep as well. Isara followed his lead, leaning onto the cushioned side of the harness... And immediately blanked out... She saw a faint light in the distance... A purple light. It was irritating, but it was nothing more than a dot in front of her vision... It was annoying... And getting larger... And larger... And... Way too big... It was blinding... What the hell?!

" _New One... You've arrived..."_ A gravelly voice said... And Isara's heart skipped a beat as she woke up to the sounds of his team-mates chatting. She looked to Jack, to see him nod to her calmly, before grabbing his rifle and readying it... Isara then heard Bradford's voice speak through com and looked to the holoscreen, to see his face as he started " _You know the drill by now, Strike 3, but for your new Recruit, you'll be heading into an alien abduction site. There's been a spike of reports about the Aliens having hit the town quickly and the local authorities have been unable to respond. We believe there may still be an Alien presence in the area. You are to find and eliminate this presence. And watch out for Civilians, if there are any caught in the crossfire. Best of luck, Strike-3. Central out."_

The Operation Name read: _Patient Hydra._

Isara grabbed her own rifle as she felt the Skyranger ease off into landing, then saw the back hatch open up as they landed. The Harnesses opened up and allowed them to move out, with Joana going out as pointman and signalling the squad to move forth. Isara, rifle raised, joined the others in the quick disembark off the Skyranger, to the sight of a gas station that also seemed to house a truck stop and restaurant... The place was empty, derelict of life. Even the cars that still ran, engines thrumming, didn't have people inside.

Jack silently motioned to Aya to take point as they landed near a back corner of the place, then showed the Squad to scatter to assorted pieces of high cover, before showing Isara to follow him. The girl nodded, then took next to the man as they reached a left-side corner and the man leaned onto the wall that cornered off here, then peeked out with only one eye... The area was clear, save for an alien whateverthefuck type of pod dropped square in the center of the road, having left a deep fucking hole and being surrounded by green corpses. He sighed deeply, then showed the Squad it was clear.

Armin took steps forward and joined them, going to a fence, a piece of low cover ahead of them and scanning the area. Aya followed up, joining up behind Isara and next to a door that led inside the pit stop. A puff of smoke sounded off and Isara looked to see Joana going up atop the building at high speed. Isara raised a brow, then heard Ayano whisper "Grappling hook. Awesome, right?" with a grin. Isara nodded, smiling... And Aya propped open the door ahead at Jack's signal, then peeked inside, raising her Scattershot Laser to greet anything coming their way.

It was as if the people in the diner left in a hurry. There was still food on the counter and on some of the tables. She looked to Isara, then with a more stern look on her face, motioned the girl to follow her inside... Isara understood somehow, nodding, whilst Jack, Armin and Joana stood guard outside. The Darcsen Rookie took a look to her left, to see Jack and Armin advancing over some empty tables and moving from cover to cover, whilst Joana's footsteps could be heard above as she changed positions, to set up for any possible incoming.

Ayano moved toward the counter, slowly, shotgun shouldered and aimed. Isara followed, rifle raised and aimed behind the counter, at the kitchen. The two peeked over and saw nothing... No movement inside. They then heard a com cue three times... And then Jack's whispering voice "Thin Mints. Three. And two Sectoids, just ahead of Joana's position, outside the store linked to the diner. Be careful inside, girls."

"Roger." Ayano said through her communication bead, a tiny radio device meant for short-range transmissions. The Japanese operative turned toward Isara, then showed her toward the open spot that linked the snack and drink store to the diner and made a left hand signal, for her to take High Cover on that side. Isara nodded, then ran as Ayano ran onto the opposite side... She showed Isara to halt, listening in... And Is heard it to, the patter of feet and the chitter-chatter of the Sectoids. Isara also heard a growling and the sound of a pair of engines...

"We've got Floaters." Armin muttered into Radio "Thank God I loaded HEAT for this mission..." The man then said to himself... Isara peeked past the cover, to hear the noise of the engines roaring... And to see the most horrific thing she'd ever seen... It was like half a human torso had been horribly maimed and melded to rocket engines... The creature had a bionic right eye, while the left was white and empty. A mask with multiple tubes was sown or welded onto the poor person's face and more tubes ran through into its chest cavity, whilst its arms were fully robotic... It hauled a strange, emerald-shining carbine, which Isara soon realized was plasma... And as its eyes looked over at the girl... She realized she'd been spotted.

"Go loud!" Jack ordered... The first hiss of a laser weapon sounded off from above, followed by a death noise that was muffled from the outside... Isara meanwhile stood and stared with incredible disgust as the creature leaked what looked like puss... It groaned, almost pained, at Isara, as if in warning, then raised its plasma weapon toward her... The girl's eyes widened and she ducked behind the wall, when angry green fireballs slammed into it. Heat washed her skin, it prickled and burned, hell, even boiled to some degree as molten material splattered onto her face, hair and hands. She gritted her teeth, then yelled "I'm taking fire!"

"Well, return it, Is!" Ayano barked, peeking from behind cover as a Thin Man, a long, lanky human-looking creature wearing a suit and glasses appeared, hauling a similar weapon as the Floater, but moving much more graciously, like a snake. Ayano greeted it with a blast of laser straight to the center of its body. It died with a hiss and a spewing of what looked like a cloud of toxic acid... A lucky shot. Ayano looked to Isara and said "ISARA, FIRE NOW!"

The girl gasped as she turned toward the Floater that targeted her and gasped, rolling out of the way as Plasma slammed into the wall and where she had been, melting the floor. She turned toward the Floater, aiming her rifle from the ground and sent a burst of laser way too high. It hit the roof, burning a black, heated mark onto it as it passed right over the creature's bald head... Isara's eyes widened in fear as she tried to align a shot again... But Ayano took it before her, rushing behind what looked like a shelf full of candy and lancing a shot right into the creature's lower body, sending it to the floor with a violent explosion of fuel and blood.

She then rushed to a shocked Isara and picked her up, then patted her on the shoulder and said with a smile "You missed, but still hit closer than most Rookies can ever say they did." reassuring Isara before hearing the howl of Plasma weapons and the hiss of more laser weaponry firing, as well as the crackle of Armin's gatling laser. The two girls rushed toward a door that was opened by the Floater, then looked outside, to see Armin and Jack pinned down by two Thin Men and one of the Sectoids... Aya gasped, then pushed Isara out of the way as three Plasma rounds charred the part of the wall the girl took cover behind, then raised her Scatter Laser and blasted it clean through its obnoxiously large head.

"That's twice, Is." Ayano smirked "You owe me two drinks at base." She then joked, giving Isara a friendly punch in the shoulder, before turning to engage the second Floater. She looked to the recruit and said "Take out one of the Thin Men! We might relieve some pressure from Jackie and Armin!" to which the young girl nodded quickly... Isara felt her heart race, felt the adrenaline of combat outside of an armored vehicle like the Edelweiss... For the first tome she felt scared for her life... But she also felt more _alive_ than before... This was that Combat Rush she read of.

The girl knelt behind the still-burning wall she took to covering from the alien creatures, then raised her rifle and aimed it right at a Thin Man's head... It cocked its expressionless face toward her, then its lips parted in awe as the girl got a good enough shot at it... A burst of high-intensity energy punched through the right side of the creature's face, sending it reeling back. Its brain evaporated from the sudden rise in temperature and part of its face exploded outward, releasing that cloud of noxious gas and scaring its brother. Through the fog, Isara could see it falling back toward the Sectoid... She tried to punch a shot through the misty gas, but failed, missing the Alien by a wide margin, before she heard Armin's Gatling Laser rev... And roar.

Lasers laced the cover of the Sectoid with burning pockmarks, forcing it to duck its head, whilst Jack drew and hurled a grenade overhead. A flash and the roar of an explosion and Isara heard the small grey man screech, dead and probably full of shrapnel. Lowering her rifle, she looked at the lanky corpse of the Thin man, collapsed onto the ground and coiled up like a spider or snake... She saw the gas clear out, just like the one behind them... And saw a beam of scarlet energy punch through the back of the Thin Man, sending it tumbling next to a fuel pump.

"Crack shot, Joana." Jack said, joining Isara and Ayano inside the store. "And you too, Isara. Thanks."

"Yeah..." Armin said begrudgingly, but with a grin "Owe ya one."

"I apparently owe Ayano two drinks..." Isara answered... And Armin chuckled, then nodded. The team saw Ayano walk back inside, a smirk and some yellow alien blood on her face. Her shotgun's barrels seemed heated... And her knuckles were bloody too. Jack took pause for a moment, before Isara voiced his concern "Did... Did you beat the Alien to death?"

"Eh. Made sure it was dead." Ayano shrugged, grinning.

"Okay... I am going to pay that debt when we get to base..." Isara muttered, slightly frightened of her new friend. She felt the tension ease for a moment, but before long, they were back right into the action... They had encountered another 'Pod'(As XCOM seemed to call squads) of Thin Men and Sectoids. No other floaters, though... A few quick shots of laser fire disposed of them.

As the area seemed to clear, Isara paused as she heard heavier steps. She turned around toward a truck... Then saw them... Bulky creatures, clad in green armor that covered all of their bodies, creatures resembling of gorillas, with killer yellow eyes staring at the girl and her team-mates... They were about six times her size, five or so her team-mates... And there was _four_ of them. They carried large, heavy-looking Plasma Rifles and had strange muzzles that emanated yellow steam. The leader of the pack of four beat its chest, letting out a guttural roar...

"HoLY SHIT!" Armin exclaimed, raising his Gatling Laser and rinsing the first one with all of the ammo left in the current power pack. As the weapon ceased functioning, steam emanating from the heat sink, the man swore in German as he tried to reload it... And Isara gasped as she saw the lead creature, now more angry as its comrades also scrambled for cover and with burn marks on its armor, aim its Plasma rifle at Armin... Before she could get to him, two bursts of green fire washed the man's body armor and face, sending him to the floor in an incredible display of Plasma knockback.

Armin's face was almost completely burned, save for his ears and eyelids... He groaned, then screamed in pain as Jack went to his side and pulled out one of XCOM's medical packs and using it on the man, before saying "You'll be fine, Armin, but girls still won't kiss you..." with such a serious face, Isara could swear he wasn't joking... Plasma soon washed over their heads, sending them hunkering down deep behind cover... Ayano swore, then roared "THOSE MOTHERFUCKERS! LEMME AT'EM!" as she tried to jump over the cover... Isara pulled the girl down back into cover... But saw her killer eyes. Holy shit, what the hell had gotten into the girl?

NEVERMIND! Isara ducked and screamed as Plasma slammed into the truck they were hiding behind...

Jack joined them. A beam of scarlet energy hissed overhead as he said "Armin's stable... But we need to kill those things if WE want to still be able to carry him out of here." readying his rifle. He looked to Joana, giving a thumbs up as the girl kept firing her Sniper, then looked to Ayano and said "You still consider yourself 'Lightning Reflexes', Backbreaker?"

"Hell to the fuck yeah, chief." The girl smirked, racking her shotgun "Want me to rush'em and take their Plasma fire toward me?"

Jack nodded, then looked to Isara and said "We need to be quick... Take as many shots at them as possible... And try to aim for the head or flush them out for Joana to actually hit them..." calmly. Jack had already formulated a strategy... On the fly... Against an enemy that none of them seemed to know... Isara's jaw was threatening to dislocate... But she shook her head, clearing her confusion, then nodded to Jack, a more stern look in her eyes. He then said "On three, girls... One... Two... Three! GO!"

Ayano took off at such a high pace, Isara was barely able to keep up with her vision as the girl fired her Laser Shotgun and swore colorful insults about the Creatures' family tree... Isara then synched with Jack, both firing at two different targets that aimed at Ayano... And Isara was lucky enough to have nailed one enemy right through the head. The second creature, the big guy she'd just hit, was bordering on breaking her luck for future operations... The creature's skull was punched in by the laser shot... Its weapon and what looked like a grenade exploded... Ayano's shotgun burst through another creature's head and she rushed to pounce on the next one, before a scarlet lance of energy that vaporized the creature's head cut her knuckle-based melee attack short...

"AW, COME ON, JO! I WANTED TO PUMMEL THE FUCKER INTO THE GROUND!" Aya yelled, angrily, at the sniper, as she skid to a halt next to the corpse, before tripping over it.

"And if you fucking tried you'd have gotten pummeled..." Armin groaned, rubbing his face and peeling off some bits of skin "FffFuUUUUUUUUUUCK! THIS FUCKING HURTS!"

Isara saw Aya then gasp, rushing to her comrade's side and lifting his head. She asked "You okay, Armin? You still look handsome" a look of motherly worry on her face. Isara took a moment of pause... Before realizing as Armin said "I'm fine, babe... God, this fucking hurts, though." before giving a toothy grin to the girl... Isara looked to Jack, raising a brow... And the man shrugged, seemingly careless about two of their teammates being in what looked like a genuine relationship... Joana dropped down from the rooftop and joined the team, before they heard from Central.

" _Well done, Strike-3. Medbay is ready for 3-2 and the research labs are waiting for those four corpses you just made._ " Central said " _Head for evac. Chalk up another one."_

"... Who's giving Vahlen the big guys?" Armin asked jokingly "I'm not going anywhere near _Doctor Vahlenstein."_

Jack rolled his eyes, then helped Aya pick Armin up, before saying "Any jokes about me being Gay and I drop you, Instant Tan." with the most serious look on his face yet. Armin grinned, then burst into a boisterous laugh... Aya followed him with a similar laugh... Joana smirked, snickering quietly as they walked... And Isara let out her own laugh, a loud, boisterous laugh that made all the tension, all the muscle spasms and cramps leave her body... The Adrenaline made way for her to feel the cold sweat... And joy she'd survived her first Op with XCOM...

* * *

 ** _OPERATION:PATIENT HYDRA_**

 ** _ALIEN ABDUCTION  
_**

 ** _LOCATION:EDINBURGH, UNITED KINGDOM  
_**

 ** _DATE:MAY 17 2015  
_**

 ** _STAFF SERGEANT JACKSON "VOODOO" BRADLEY;STATUS:ALIVE, FATIGUED(5 DAYS)  
_**

 ** _SERGEANT AYANO "BACKBREAKER" GOTO; STATUS:ALIVE, FATIGUED(5 DAYS)_**

 ** _SERGEANT ARMIN "HAMMERHEAD" VOSS;STATUS:MODERATELY WOUNDED. 10 DAYS IN MEDBAY  
_**

 ** _PFC ISARA GUNTHER;STATUS:ALIVE, FATIGUED(5 DAYS). PROMOTED TO SPECIALIST. CLASS ASSIGNED:COMBAT ENGINEER  
_**

 ** _-END LOG-_**


	5. EXALT

Sleeping... By God, how Is had missed it. Sure, a short nap aboard the Skyranger was all fine and dandy, but right now, she'd been asleep for a solid 10 hours on her first off day. No activity whatsoever, nobody bothering to wake her up. She knew Aya was checking on Armin down in the Sickbay. Good for her. She also knew Jack was sitting at the terminal, typing data and conversing silently enough with Joana not to wake her up. Alas...

SHE WAS STILL AWAKENED BY THE BLARING ALARMS!

Christ, couldn't XCOM somehow silence them during off days? She stood up straight in her bed, then put on her shoal and looked to Jack and Joana. The squad leader nodded to her, then said "Good morning... Actually, scratch that. Good _afternoon_ , Isara. You missed Breakfast and Lunch." his expressionless face staring still at her. She shrugged, yawned, stretching out her arms and wiping her eyes of the morning dew. The Alarms were more subsided, Isara noticed.

"Good afternoon to you guys too..." The girl said, turning to the side of the bed and putting on her boots, before standing up and arranging her Shoal. "What's with the Alarms?"

"Briefing for the new Operatives... You should be headed out to it." Jack told her. "It's about a pro-alien organization we've been dealing with for almost a month now, so it's useful info." he then said, before turning to his console. Isara nodded, then excused herself and walked out into the barracks, joining up a few faces she hadn't seen around. A woman with pink hair, a man with platinum-blonde hair and another with aquamarine-blue hair. The odd colors gave Isara feel that this squad was either new... Or really experienced to some extent.

"Ah. 3's new soldier." the girl with the pink hair, which was caught in a ponytail, noted. "You must be that Isara that Aya mentioned."

The girl nodded "Yeah. Uhh... You are?" She then inquired.

"Name's Mina Vandermeer. Tech Sergeant and a Sniper. Pleasure to make your acquaintance, Isara." The woman said, extending her hand with a more carefree demeanor. Isara nodded and shook hands with her. Mina looked to her squadmates, then pointed at the man with the aquamarine-blue hair and said "That's Sam Jang, squad resident Assault and finally," She pointed at the man with platinum-blonde hair, then added "José Luis, of similar pedigree as Sam."

"Hey there." Sam waved.

José nodded "Hello."

"A pleasure to meet all 3 of you." Isara nodded. "Are you guys heading for the briefing too?"

"Yeah. One of our teammates is actually gonna show up at this briefing." Mina noted. "She's kind of a pro with every subject pertaining EXALT." And the group walked further along the corridor, until finally getting toward the Briefing Room. Mina punched in a Class-1 Security Code and entered the briefing room... Which Isara found to be full. The lights were off, save for the Holoscreen ahead illuminating the room.

Isara saw Central Officer Bradford in the room, among a dozen other operatives. Mina nodded to Central and said "Hey, Chief." with a relaxed demeanor, to which Central nodded, showing them to find their seats, before looking at the Holoscreen. It had the writing ' _AWAITING TRANSMISSION...'_ against a darker background. Isara found her seat next to Mina and the others, then waited... The Operatives around were a new Batch of recruits. Fresh faces Is hadn't seen around base, save for maybe a few. Bradford turned toward them all.

"Welcome, Rookies and Specialist-class operatives. You are the newest batch to be inducted into XCOM and so, I figure you've been given the tour by a more elite operative of ours and now know where is what." Central said. "Among you are also members of Strike-4, whom are some of aforementioned elite personnel and who know what this briefing is about, but for those of you that don't, listen up:This War, you may've been told, is about hunting and killing Alien creatures that threaten peace and stability on our good blue planet, that XCOM's armaments are the most up-to-date and advanced any military can muster and that we have only the best of the best here. All of that is true. But they've omitted a certain detail about XCOM's foes:There's not just the Aliens..."

Murmurs around the room after Central's announcement were quietened by the flashing of a scarlet emblem on the screen ahead. A Hexagon, with an open eye overlooking a globe. Similarity, yet difference between this and XCOM's emblem. Written below it, in Latin, were the words _'Scientia potentia est'_. Is felt a chill shoot up her spine as she looked at the all-seeing Eye staring down upon the Planet. Central looked at everyone's reactions, then said "This is the symbol of our second foe. Our Enemy Within. This is the symbol of the Extraterrestrial Alternative Organization. In the past month alone, we've been engaged by them on all fronts. Terror attacks, disinformation campaigns, propaganda, ruses and Black Ops. That's their Modus Operandi. The worst part is, we know oh so very little about them."

He watched as the new recruits and Isara reacted to the news, then added "Well, we didn't know. Until now, at least. Recently, Covert Operations to counter this new threat have begun, with XCOM operatives at the forefront alongside the world's Counter-Intelligence agencies. Currently, there is an op ongoing within the Russian Federation. One meant to counteract an EXALT mission there, led by..." He smiled, then nodded to Mina, who smirked.

"Led by Special Operative and Scout Staff Sergeant Iris 'Routine' Sokolova. Strike-4-3. Best damn eyes this side of the world." Vandermeer said, then let the screen flash once, before a face appeared and a strange, upbeat rock song began to play from the speakers in the room. The view was that of a rather damp, dark room with a hanging light above. It was an old Soviet apartment complex, clearly, but the room itself looked rather nice. A woman appeared in front of the screen, blonde hair caught in a bun and a pair of thick-rimmed reading glasses on her beautiful, pale face.

"Hello, everyone!" She said, her Russian accent thick and a wide smile. Taking off her glasses, she arranged the bun on the back of her head and set down a silenced handgun. She was wearing a short-sleeved T-Shirt with AC/DC on it. A band that Aya wanted to introduce Isara to when they had a day off. "A pleasure to see so many new faces! And some old ones too! Hi, Mina, hi, José, hi, Sam! You guys sure are far back! And a good evening, Central!"

"It's morning at us, Operative Sokolova, but likewise." The man returned calmly. "How goes the operation?"

"Oh, good, good! We've found some possible dirt on those EXALT _svoloch_ working nearby, but they got the Sankt Petersburg mayor to seal an area I needed to get into off. I'm gonna try and sneak my way in tomorrow morning. Be ready down there if things get hairy. Gonna need a quick extraction if push comes to shove." The woman noted with the calmest demeanor Isara had ever seen from a soldier. "The _FIS_ and Spetsnaz friends I have told me they can't really help me if it's an order from a local Russian administrator."

"Well, keep us posted. We'll have Big Sky ready if needed tomorrow, Operative." Central said. "Any info you can share right now?"

"Yeah, sure." She nodded, smirking "They're pro-alien bastards who want to take control from the Governments while we're busy dancing around with the X-Rays, sir. That and they've got unknown suppliers... Some of the shitheads I've seen have weapons similar to our ballistic ones. And they're wearing downright Bond outfits too. Old suits, neckties and some strange orange masks, alongside sunglasses. I've also found their radio frequency, but it's all jammed for us... That or they're speaking actual gibberish only they understand."

"Thanks, Operative." Nodded Central "Anything you wish to add to the Rookies and Specialists here?"

"Yeah. If Mina or any other big Operative in XCOM didn't tell you lot this:Don't do stupid shit! Stupid shit will get you killed. And don't play hero. There's no room for more of you morons around and XCOM can't really afford to lose you anymore." She noted, then heard a knock on her door. she took her handgun and said "We'll talk when I get back, Central. And to Mina and the rest of Strike-4, be ready to pop in and save my ass. _Do svidaniya_ _._ " before shutting off the camera.

"Well... That was educational." Noted Mina.

"Yeah." Sam said, before looking to Central.

"That was all for now. Dismissed. Strike-4, with me. The rest of you can go about your business." Bradford said, pocketing his tablet and walking out as the rest of the people inside left the place single-file, before scattering about the base. Isara walked toward the Elevator that led down to the Engineering deck. She entered the cavernous hall that was their homebrew factory, to see Central talking to Shen near the man's office. The old man was smiling as he was handed a data chip, presumable for some new items, from Doc Vahlen. How had Central gotten here before her, she didn't know. Some personal, Central-only Elevator, perhaps.

As Isara got to them, Central was turning to leave. He nodded to Isara on his way out, seemingly rushed as he moved... And vanished behind machinery. So, maintenance tunnels or something else... Isara sighed, then walked toward Shen and, with a smile, said "Hello, Chief Engineer. I'm here to take you up on that offer of having my downtime here."

"Welcome, Specialist Gunther." Shen kept the smile he had, arranging his glasses on the bridge of his nose "You can come and make the daily checkup of the assembly line with me."

"It'd be my pleasure." The girl nodded and as they started walking, she asked "By the way, did the Central Officer deliver a new item of interest to you?"

"Yes, a prototype weapons system I and doctor Vahlen developed in cohesion with one another. She had just finished the final adjustments to the MELD requirements." Shen noted calmly... And saw Isara raise a brow. He then said calmly "You have yet to be introduced to Meld as a substance, then. I will tell you briefly about its properties, miss Gunther. MELD is a substance, crystalline and made of nanoscopic machines that can bind any material, organic or non-organic, to other similar materials of both classifications."

"Wow..." Isara said, her eyes wide. "A nanoscopic material that can bind other materials together... Even flesh to flesh?" She asked. Shen gave a calm nod, allowing Isara to think for a moment... "This item could save thousands, if not millions of lives. The medical applications would be incredible... But I imagine, first, it must come to military use..." before she paused and realized the darkest part "You said it can also bind flesh to metal..." and she looked to him "A weapons system?"

"The... Volunteers and soldiers who undertake the surgeries will sacrifice much... But with the technology here, they will live normal lives on base... And will be unstoppable on the field of battle." Shen reassured. "We already have a few willing participants, two of which you met on the briefing about EXALT for the new recruits." before turning toward the Assembly Line... Isara saw some of the Laser rifles being assembled.

"You're gonna turn humans into machines to win this war?" She asked.

"I'm afraid it's our only hope to save some of our recruits... Aside from mister Voss, there are Operatives who lose limbs from Plasma Fire, Isara." Shen said sadly. "So all of them volunteered upon hearing of it. They want to fight as much as the next man, Isara, but their wounds didn't allow them... Not until now. This will be used for veterans after the war, to help heal us..."

"The ethical problems here are always outweighed by the War, aren't they?" Isara sadly asked... Shen nodded, crossing his arms and the girl continued "But I can't judge... I know some of our people in OUR war did similar things. So... What is this weapon system?" before looking around at the factory working its own business calmly, the conveyors spinning, rolling the items, from grenades to laser rifles, along.

"A Mechanized Exoskeletal Cybersuit. MEC for short." Shen smiled "It is a heavily armored battlesuit meant to mimic and resize a human. Any human who dons this and the cybernetic limbs will have increased strength, survivability and firepower. I already devised items to help increase firepower, durability and such for our MEC Troopers. And when the first ones roll off the line, it'll be hell for the foe."

Alarms blared. Three wails followed by a horn... And Shen took out his tablet on instinct, before saying "Alien fighters... An interception is underway." and activating the screen, linking it straight to the hologlobe's own view. A pilot Cam appeared, revealing a fast-moving aircraft of XCOM's, having just taken off and utilizing boosters. Having broken the sound barrier, the pilot, designated Eightball, held onto the control sticks of the vehicle as his Heads-Up Display lit up with numbers...

" _This is Eightball. I'm tailing the Bogey._ " The pilot's voice sounded off. Into view, the enemy ship came. A rounded hull, smooth and of a silver and purple color. It had shields on four sides, light barriers bright enough to blind any normal human without protection. Eightball's HUD flared as it tagged the UFO as hostile. The screen had the tag of the UFO type:Fighter.

And Isara saw why... Whips of emerald heat flew from the ship, from unknown gunports, probably hidden on the hull of the strange alien craft. Eightball saw the incoming projectiles quickly, rolling to the side to avoid the shots, before locking on his own weapon and trying to tail the Alien quickly, before it could begin evasive maneuvers. An estimated Timer before the ship could escape flared on top of his HUD. 15 seconds out... As the Alien ship's weapons fired and Eightball dodged by weaving through them, the pilot hit his own weapons up. His HUD switched with a view of a missile on the top left.

Isara saw the man dodge another burst of plasma. 5 seconds out, but one of his wings got nicked. She felt her heart skip a beat as she saw the pilot soar through the sky, his rockets locked and ready... Two missiles flew from the undercarriage of the bird. One struck, shattering alien alloy off the side of the ship. Another went wide and blew up, struck by a single lance of emerald fire. Eightball huffed in his coms as he pulled for another tight turn, activating afterburners and turning in a wide arc as the ship prepared to jump...

Flares were dumped as the man flew, eyes locked onto the alien ship... And with lightning reflexes, as it jumped away, two unguided rockets from Eightball struck the ship directly... And a fireball ensued. Emerald fire enveloped the hull of the craft, sending it tumbling to the ground in a fast-dropping fireball and Isara heard cheers as Eightball called out through Com " _Central, Splashed one bogey. I'm RTB. Your turn."_

Isara stared with awe as the camera panned, with the pilot turning. She wanted... A while back... To soar like that. To fly through the clouds, a smile on her face. She watched as the feed cut, then turned to Shen and asked "That was a fighter..." and Shen nodded. She smirked, then said "I want to learn how to pilot... But that's going to take a while, right?"

"... I think Eightball is willing to teach. You can ask him when he lands back at base." Shen said, smiling. "Though I'd advise against it... It's hard to fight the Aliens when you're an elite pilot. Much more so when you, as you are, would be a Novice." He then warned. Isara had a smile on her face, so wide, you could basically tell she didn't care. She was already with XCOM for the long run. May as well ask if Eightball would teach a young girl how to fulfill her lifelong dream of soaring through the beautiful blue skies like an angel... Hopefully not in a literal sense.

She regarded Shen with a nod and said "Well, onward we go. I wish to see you actually work on this new MEC project if possible. Perhaps provide my insight into it?" before pausing for a moment. "Also, can you tell me Eightball's full name?" as they walked off. Jack, from the doorway of the Elevator, regarded Isara and Shen working together calmly... Next to him was Central.

"She's adjusting well." Bradford said optimistically.

"Seems to be." Jack said, more concerned than Central. "I just hope we haven't made a mistake in allowing her asylum. Or to fight."

"Concerned of a political incident? You're a child soldier too, technically." He noted. Jack shook his head once.

"Not what I mean. She has something that bothers her... Something she won't talk about. And it has to do with her transfer here. Either alien experimentation or... A traumatic event of her world's origin." The boy said, a small frown on his face as he watched her happily chug along, working with Shen and the engineers on an improvement for the Laser Rifle. Jack sighed, leaning his head against the metal wall and said "... I just hope she didn't go through what I went through..."

He felt Central's reassuring, heavy hand on his shoulder, before the 30-ish year old man said "We'll find out. I know you care, Jack, but this isn't the time to question her abilities. She's proven herself so far, hasn't she?" allowing the boy to look toward the stern, but fatherly figure he saw in Central... He gave a light nod, then sighed, allowing Central to continue "So, keep her under your wing and you will all be fine. She is your subordinate after all." and then he bumped the kid's shoulder "C'mon. I think Goto is trying to break Voss out of Sickbay."

Jack rolled his eyes and sighed in exhaustion "I can't catch a break with those two..." he whined, before following Central... He took one last look at Isara, who was laughing as she apparently told a joke to the Engineers... One probably only Engineers and Engineers alone would understand at this point. He felt a sense of ease... Maybe Isara would make it through the Long War... With them... But he'd have to make sure of it. He'd have to make sure the squad was well-oiled and ready to kick ass at the drop of a hat... And they were pretty much already. A Gunner, an Assault, a Medic, a Combat Engineer and one of the deadliest Snipers XCOM had in its retinue. Strike-3 would damn-well Ante Up.


	6. Silver Serpent

**_Operation:Silver Serpent_**

 ** _Mission Type:Alien Abduction_**

 ** _Assigned Unit:Strike Team 3_**

 ** _Location:Strasbourg, France_**

Within Strasbourg's main boulevard, a crack-snap of a Laser sniper rifle sent a Sectoid tumbling to the floor, its eye boiled away by the high-powered laser. Following it, a Muton was washed by direct and high-intensity laser fire. Armin's Autolaser barked, then hissed as steam escaped its heat sinks, before the heavily-armored gunner took a seat behind his cover:A battered blue car. It had a scorch mark clean across its hood that melted into the engine, fusing its components together without igniting the fuel inside, thankfully. Today's op was an easy one, Armin thought.

Isara, hidden behind a piece of high cover, specifically the wall of one of the buildings on the boulevard, to the right of Armin and Jack, watched as a combo of Sectoids and Thin Men moved farther in the back. Another scarlet beam drilled a neat hole between the eyes of a middle Thin Man, killing it and releasing its toxic vapors around its immune brethren and the sectoids, which soon fell sick with the gas.

Isara followed the smoking trail of heat as it dissipated, to the top of the right-side tower of the Strasbourg cathedral. She saw Joana's ID Tag faintly tick onto her Heads-Up Display, before vanishing, then she looked to Jack, who nodded to Isara and then signaled Aya to join the girl... The Japanese Assault grinned, then nodded and started dashing. Heated plasma charred the ground, boiling away concrete below and behind Aya's feet, but the girl found herself quickly slamming her back into the wall and grinning, a drop of sweat falling down her cheek, before she said to her Darcsen friend "That was close... Damn Thin Mints with their aimbot."

She got a chuckle as a response, before the blue-haired girl joked "Can't really be hit though, can you, Aya?" and she took aim, firing her laser rifle at one of the sectoids behind a car. Thumping steps echoed from one of the buildings on the far left, even through the continuous crackle of Laser fire. They saw more Mutons break through a glass storefront with strength. At least a pod of four.

Armin's auto-laser spun and chattered as three of the four gorillas got into cover. The lumbering fourth was slammed and washed over by laser rounds, two of which boiled his left arm's bicep. It staggered, but didn't stop, getting to its designated cover point not long before a laser shot hit the ground next to it. Joana had missed once. Didn't matter, though, since the alien wasted its movement. They heard a quiet swear in Romanian from the sniper gal, but she kept her aim steady.

Jack jumped over the hood of the car he used for cover, sliding over it quickly and dashing. He broke through the window of a storefront selling what they called 'DVDs' on Earth. Little packages containing a hell of a lot of good entertainment. Is wanted to rent a DVD when she got back at base. Right now, she provided covering fire to Jack as he advanced. He halted behind one of the counters, just in view of the girl and his other team-mate and gave a hand signal. The blue-haired Combat Engineer turned to Aya and showed her to follow, before dashing over cover and firing on the move. A beam of laser cut a path through some now-dissipating toxic smoke, but went wide into the sky, as the girls joined Jack inside, with Armin coming in last and staying at the windows, settling his Auto-Laser down on a bipod, shouldering it and firing at the Aliens outside.

"What's the plan, bossman?" Aya asked, grin wide as she held her Scatter Laser close. Jack peeked over the counter, outside the windows, where the aliens' silhouettes were being lit up by the Autolaser's continuous stream of fire. Two-second bursts did a number on the battery packs, but for now that'd hold as he made a plan. He looked to a backdoor that led to an alley, more than likely and started to formulate. The aliens outside were still busy with being pinned down by a heated wave of red light and if they moved, Jo could more than likely snap a shot off to wound or send an Ayy back into their cover... Outflank through the alleyway. Toss an AP grenade, then shotgun the Aliens while they're recovering.

He saw Isara stand up after hearing the door slam open. The girl gritted her teeth and sent a beam of energy down to the door. The shot punched through the rearmost of two advancing Sectoids, the one that merged its mind with its brother. The corpse fell to the floor, whilst its brother scurried on into cover behind one of the counters ahead. Following them in, an undamaged Muton came in, Plasma Rifle at the ready.

Armin spun about, before kneeling, shouldering his Auto-Laser and smirking as he said to Aya "Here comes the Pain Train." to which the girl grinned. Jack gave a nod, before showing Isara to pull and throw. The girl grabbed a Grenade from her belt, pulled the pin and heaved it over cover... She heard an explosion and saw shards of metal embed into the walls and ground... And heard a Sectoid's death screech. The Muton roared, wounded lightly by the Grenade...

And Isara froze as she saw the insanity unfolding before her as Aya rushed forward, racking her Shotgun laser and sending two shots on the move. One slammed right into armor, boiling it, whilst the second struck its exposed arm, throwing off whatever aim it had as the Plasma rounds it fired burned and boiled a hole into the roof. Aya smirked, jumping out of the way, shooting a Thin Man with a round right through its chest and hiding behind a high shelf to slam a fresh battery into her Scatter Laser.

Armin's Auto Laser screamed and a burst of laser sent the creature onto its ass. Jack sighed, then barked "LIGHT IT UP!" before standing up and aiming his own Laser Carbine at the creature. It roared in pain, shielding its head from the high volume of Laser Fire coming its way, but made the fatal mistake of lowering it... A round punched through its forearm, striking heart and Jack's ray punched clean through its head.

Outside, another shot snapped and Isara heard another Thin Mint hiss and die off, probably poisoning two more Mutons by the thick voices' coughs. A charging sound hit off and Isara saw Armin switch out his old battery for a new one and rack the bolt to start feeding energy, before he peeked out again... Isara and Aya nodded to Jack and went off ahead, with Isara jumping across and hugging the wall across the alleyway, falling to a knee and aiming at the outflanked aliens. Through the gas, she saw a Muton try to move, then snapped a shot off. It hit the Muton's knee, actually drilling a hole through the exposed joint and sending the creature to the floor, before she shot again, bursting through the alien's brain.

Aya's Scatter Laser burst clean through the last one's armor, burning and destroying what stood for its heart. It and its brother both collapsed, dead, before Aya tapped com and listened in as Central called them in _"Mission accomplished, Strike-3. You're good to go home. Skyranger is en-route, 3 minutes out"_ allowing the Operatives to sigh deeply in relief. Isara slumped against the wall she hid behind, then said "God, that was close."

"Nice shooting, Is! You got another pair of kills, at least." Aya smirked, sitting down next to her. She coughed, then leaned her head back, took out her water canteen, uncapped it and took a huge swig, before extending it to Isara. The girl, sweating from head to toe, took the canteen, chugged down two big mouthfuls and then poured a bit of it on herself, droplets of water now laying on her armor's chest plate, her hair soaked, same as her shoal. She handed the girl back her canteen, before exhaling, all the combat-related stress leaving as, in its place, fatigue installed itself.

"Thanks, Aya..." Is smiled. She watched Jack and Armin join them, taking seats and leaning on the wall opposite. Armin chuckled, taking out a cigarette and lighting it, before staring at the corpses. The boy's face still had some scarring over where he'd been burned and whatever small facial hair he had wouldn't grow back, but at least his eyes, nose and lips were okay.

"You did good, Rookie." Voss noted. "Not too shabby aiming either."

"Yeah." Jack nodded to her. "And one hell of an arm. You're a fine addition to the team, Isara."

"Thanks." Is smiled, blushing and rubbing the back of her neck. They all heard a quiet hum and turned to see Joana walking toward them. She had a lax smile of superiority on her face. She had gotten the highest kill count, of fucking course. Aya smirked, then gave a thumbs up to the girl as Isara examined the Kestrel superlight armor she wore... A simple alloy chest plate, outlining her form better than the normal Carapace and a pair of thick, padded and lightly armored pants. Her shoulders, with sleeve tattoos of the Romanian Mountaineer Divisions emblem on her left arm and of XCOM on the right, were in full view of Strike-3 and her Laser Sniper was leaning on her shoulder, deactivated.

She sat down next to Aya, continuing to hum her song as she checked and cleaned her weapon's lenses. Isara leaned forward and asked "What're you singing, Joana?" to which the girl, smile still on, pulled Isara close and whispered the name of the song in her native language " _Echipa Morții."_ before leaning back and humming on. Aya slid her weapon on her back, then stood up and watched as Big Sky came in low.

"Jo is a Neo-Fascist, kid. Stay away from her if you don't want to be lynched post-war." Armin warned Isara, staring at her Romanian teammate.

"Nationalist Christian, _Nemțoiule._ Fascism is the Italian failure. And I ain't no Neo-'Nazi' schmuck either." Joana defended with a snarky comeback... And this was the first time Isara had heard the woman's voice proper... It was like that of a great singer, melodious and sweet and with a beautiful, Eastern accent sprinkled in. Armin gave her a toothy grin and answered sarcastically "Look at that! She actually spoke!" before Joana flipped him the bird and stood up. Jack shook his head and followed, with Isara standing up last, after Armin.

"Best. Team. Ever." Aya chuckled as they walked toward the 'Ranger. Isara watched as, from afar, military Light Armored Vehicles moved in, probably to contain the area, followed by Helicopters. The roads, blocked off by the LAVs, were soon to be occupied by French infantry. The air, filled by French aircraft. A coverup, perhaps. One Isara and Strike-3 wouldn't be there to see.

 ** _OPERATION STATUS:COMPLETED_**

 ** _NO CASUALTIES. ALL OPERATIVES FATIGUED, 2 DAY REST RECOMMENDED_**

 ** _SPEC GUNTHER PROMOTED TO LANCE CORPORAL_**

 ** _-END TRANSMISSION-_**

Back at base, Strike-3 was back to their usual downtime, with Isara visiting the Rec Room to find those Videogames she'd heard so much of. So, sitting down within one of the rooms to play, the girl inserted what looked like a shooter from the box, a wargame, into a 'console' and took the remote control device used on it, before turning it on and starting to play...

Jack was walking through the Anthill with Joana following him. The two, now in fatigues just like the rest of the squad, wanted to get a drink. And Jack knew he'd find Isara in the Rec Room, probably doing something to keep herself entertained or reading a book. He took pause upon seeing Strike-4 running toward the Rec-Room, past them. He yanked Mina's arm and asked "Vandermeer, where are you guys rushing?"

"New Kid's about to beat Central's high score!" Mina smirked.

"In what?!" Jack asked, eyes wide.

"Fucking Pac-Man, believe it or not!" Iris answered with a grin, then Strike-4 ran on. Jack felt a pit in his stomach... There was a rule especially about beating Central's score in anything on the goddamn List! Did Isara not read it!? He shook his head, then looked to a worried Joana and nodded. The two ran forth to the Rec Room, to see a gathering of people surrounding a single couch as a game of Pac-Man rolled on screen. And a high score just a few thousand points below Central's, with the tag 'ISR'. Jack and Joana joined up beside Van Doorn, Beagle, the latter of which scratched his beard, grinning smugly. Finally, someone was gonna beat Central... Without knowing that's gonna cause Latrine duty.

"Jeez, the kid's a natural." Beags noted, smirking "Were she to have arrived in the '80s, she'd have been a legend here in the US." before he moved a bit to allow Jack to see the youthful otherworldly cutie known as Isara working on the controller's buttons with attention glued to the monitor. Her in-game avatar took a right turn and ate one of the powerups, sending it into a frenzy that eliminated 3 of the 4 known ghosts, aside from the scarlet one. And Isara was taking it to the Top right now, her laser-focus aimed only at the last Ghost. And at that High Score... 300 more points already, as the ghosts respawned and their powerup...

"Go, Isara." Joana said, smirking.

Jack looked to her, then to Isara and said "Go, Isara!" followed by the rest of the gathered Operatives and others resting within the Rec Room calling out the same chant. 'Go, Isara'. Cheers, pep talks, friendly nicknames and such. Isara being only 100 points away. Some funny son-of-a-bitch even put 'The Top' by Ken Blast into her headphones to pump her up. She grinned as she kept going... And within the next few seconds... Mass cheers erupted as Isara had reached 'The Top'. And passed Central's High Score... With a loud cheer, she raised her hands up and said "I AM DONE!" before placing the Controller on the table. She felt guys and gals pat her head, hug her, ruffle her hair... And then suddenly, everything stopped... Isara swallowed as she felt Central's demanding presence walk in... They all turned toward the man... And all froze as he walked forward.

He examined the scoreboard, rubbing his chin and gave a look of approval... Before nodding and saying "Well done, Lance Corporal Gunther. You got promoted, by the way... And you have Latrine Duty for the next 2 weeks." Before turning around and walking out of the room. "You're new, so I will go easy on you... But do read the List in its entirety. For your sake. Everyone else? Dismissed." and with that, he left the stunned room in complete, victorious silence.

"... We should've warned her." Jack sighed.

"She didn't read the list..." Beagle shrugged. "Sorry, kid... Let's go, guys." And he patted Is on the shoulder, before they all walked away... Isara slumped down onto the couch, sighing deeply, then shook her head. Jack looked to her, then took a seat on the couch and took the first game on the table, before looking at the title... 'Call of Duty:Black Ops'. A classic, Jack nodded in approval.

Joana grinned, then made the 'No-Scope' handsign, before jumping onto the couch next to isara and asking her via hand signals if she wanted to try a new game... Isara raised a brow in question and gasped upon being shown a box with the title 'Mortal Kombat IX'. Jack's eyes widened and he shook his head quickly at Isara... But she ignored it and took the game, before she saw Joana, a devious grin on her face as she pulled out her own customized controller... No words were needed to tell Jack what he already knew.

"I'll play whoever wins..." Jack declared, leaning back and watching the girls as they switched out the games, all the while staring at Isara, who had a smile on her face... And Joana, the most reclusive member of XCOM, welcoming the girl with open arms. Jack felt a pit in his stomach, something always having the propensity to go wrong when people became too friendly with one another. With that in mind, he chose not to care about that, instead opting to take time to have fun with his friends, since God only knew who would be next to go.

Jack saw Isara paused for a moment... And felt a heavy air surrounding them... Something else moved around, but passed quickly. He swallowed, then took out his microphone and spoke into coms "Central, can you check the internal air ducts and sensors? I think something may be in here. Or on Earth..." and he heard a tap of confirmation from Central... And the answer came calmly "Nothing on-base, Sergeant. Sensors and ventilation are working normally..." as Jack looked to Isara, who seemed worried...

"We've felt something similar when she landed here... It's what got our second Gunner killed..." Joana noted, crossing her arms and looking to Isara... The girl started trembling and said "New York... We need to go there..." in a whisper. Those words sent shivers up Jack's spine, before he called in "Central, can you have any satellites or birds in the air near New York?"

"... Jack, I won't ask how you or Isara or whoever knew of this, but..." Central's voice sounded off... And the Alarms, three quick, successive, shrill screams, sounded off, followed by a loud Siren. This repeated 5 times. Jack stood up from his seat and looked to Isara, whose eyes widened as she too stood up. She turned to Jack, worried... And felt Joana's hand.

"I'll gear up and go with her." The Sniper said. "And with Strike-4, since they've got the Terror jobs most of the time." and Jack seemed apprehensive about it, biting his lower lip... He wanted to say something, but Isara looked at him with demanding, worried eyes... And Joana nodded "I have her back and she has mine, Jack... This'll be a bonding exercise."

"Joana..." He paused. Then he sighed deeply... "Go. Tell Central and grab your gear. Vandermeer and the others are probably already geared up..."

In New York... A young, silver-haired, red-eyed woman awoke to a dark view ahead of her... Scarlet flames rose sky high. Emerald lances struck the ground and parboiled concrete and pavement. And around her, people screamed and ran for safety. Her scarlet eyes looked up at the sky, wide. She felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on-end and she swallowed, but readied her hand-held Light Machine-Gun, racking the bolt...

"Oh, no, where am I?" She asked herself, feeling her knees weaken... And the clatter of talons came...

 ** _WARNING! WARNING! TERROR ATTACK IN PROGRESS!_**

 ** _LOCATION:NEW YORK CITY, USA_**

 ** _STRIKE-4 TO THE FLIGHT DECK!_**

 ** _OPERATION:VENGEFUL PYRE IS ACTIVE!_**

 ** _STRIKE-4 TO THE FLIGHT DECK!_**


	7. Vengeful Pyre:Legio Patria Nostra

_**(AN:This one's gonna be GOOD)**_

 _ **Operation:VENGEFUL PYRE**_

 _ **Operational site:New York, USA.**_

 _ **Squad Sent:Strike 4, with assistance from two Strike-3 Operatives**_

 _ **Civilian Status:Casualties Mounting, Military uncoordinated, unable to respond**_

The Skyranger swung in through the burning, flaming buildings of New York. On its streets, the US National Guard had been called in, but could do little to halt the onslaught of Alien troops. Within Central Park, the US soldiers had set up a defensive perimeter and command post... One that the Skyranger was now preparing to land in. National Guard units pinned down by aliens saw the XCOM bird power its VTOL engines, going for landing within the FOB. The Veterans of the war already knew what that ship meant. Among the PFCs of the US Nat-Guard, the ship was myth.

And sign that shit was just as bad, if not worse, than they'd have expected. Infantry mounted Humvee LMGs, MRAPs moved in and out alongside transport trucks hauling civilians to one of the only safe zones within the city and Plasma-scorched buildings littered the background from the initial bombardment. As Isara stepped off the 'Ranger next to Mina and Joana, her eyes were wide... The FOB was chock-full of wounded Civilians, National Guard and bodybags. Soldiers, women and men missing limbs, children, burned by the plasma and being treated.

Following Mina off the bird, Joana and Isara stayed with Strike-4 throughout the walk to what seemed to be a Command Tent. Walking out to greet them, a bald man with blue eyes and a strong jawline appeared, followed by a US Army soldier clad in desert operations gear. Mina's eyes widened as she asked "General Van Doorn?" allowing the man a smile.

"Ah, Operative Vandermeer. Long time, no see." The man responded, his voice friendly. "Been a while since that operation your folks called Silent Tremor." He then added, arranging the ballistic rifle he had on his back. He wore combat gear... "Thank you for the rescue, by the way." He noted, before looking around at New York. Mina sighed, then smiled.

"Good to see you too, General. You in charge of the defense here?" Mina inquired, readying her rifle. Van Doorn shook his head, then pointed inside... And Mina froze as she saw an older man, brown eyes and a Marine BDU donned. "Is that General Mattis?" She asked, looking at the General before her. He nodded, then showed them to go in, before going forward to RV with some of his troops. Mina turned to the squad and said "Stay here. General Mattis doesn't really take shit from anyone and I've spoken to him once before, back during _Iraqi Freedom_."

"Aye, ma'am." Iris gave her CO a nod, then looked to Isara and Joana and said "C'mon, guys. Let's let the chief talk to Mad Dog." with a grin. The group marched over toward a squad of US Marines deployed alongside the National Guard. They were also vets of several wars, among which this one. Iris recognized some of the boys from an Op back in Dallas... Back when they recovered Strike-3's Squad Lead. The first Terror attack.

"Look at that, it's the Bandits." Iris noted with a grin. The Marine Squad leader grinned, then took and shook Iris' hand.

"Good to see ya, Rusky. The fuck's XCOM doin' here?" He asked.

"Oh, busting your asses out of trouble." Sam responded, snarkly.

"Ha! We had it under control!" Another Marine shot back. "Mad Dog and Van Doorn are gonna do us proud!" before a Plasma round slammed into a building. Said soldier cowered as he saw the concrete parboil, followed by shards of steel falling onto the pavement far away from them. Sam chuckled, then muttered something behind his breath. He turned to see Mina walking out, a grin on her face.

"What's up, boss?" Iris asked, leaning her rifle on her shoulder.

"We've got a big battle going on for New York. Chrysler's got a lot of civvies, as do most of the underground stations. We got Marine support at least until Lexington Avenue, by the Chrysler Building. The General just confirmed it for us. We also have about two dozen Army, National Guard and Marine units engaged in deep combat due south of here, aided by Police and SWAT. Mattis' exact words were:If the Aliens came in here to make a statement, we're gonna turn around and shove that statement right up their asses. He expects his men and us to die doing that. Until further notice, Sam, tell Central we're under Mattis' command."

Sam gave a nod to his CO just as the squads heard jets droning overhead and saw them. F22 Raptor Air Superiority Fighters, the US' slick, next-gen and most aerodynamic combat vehicles yet, made the rounds in the smoggy sky. Several missiles flew in and Isara saw what they were chasing. "Those guys are chasing something. Alien UFO, looks like a fighter... They're still shelling the city." She told the squad, looking at Mina.

"'Course they are, the assholes." José muttered. Mina looked to her team, then said "ALRIGHT, STRIKE-4! ROUND IT UP! Orders are as follows, we move down to Chrysler, secure the surrounding area and eliminate any X-Ray we meet on the way. We'll be riding Shotgun to the Marines and National Guard. Rifles up, eyes peeled and fingers on your triggers! We're going Ayy Hunting!"

"Hoo'rah!" The Strike-4 members cheered. Joana leaned her Sniper on her shoulder and gave a nod with a half-grin and Isara took up a stern look, hands wrapped around her Laser Rifle. Mina nodded to them and said "Mount Up! We're going with the Van Doorn brigade!" before looking to the General as he joined them and said "Don't mind if we hitch a ride, do you, General?"

"Be my guests." The General nodded, racking the bolt of his rifle. The Squad then joined the Marines, National Guard and Army units mounting onto transport vehicles. MRAPs, Humvees and heavy-duty combat trucks were filled up in line with the Infantry and Riflemen. The squads readied weapons, with the first vic of the Convoy leaving. An MRAP with a 50cal led the way into the burning streets. Isara was aboard one of the trucks farther in the back, alongside her squad and that group of Marines from before. Everyone stood up, weapons hanging out of the sides of the truck and pointed in every direction, with Joana and another Sharpshooter from the Marine unit aiming up at the windows of burning buildings.

On her side, as they rolled down the streets, Isara could see squads of US Soldiers limping back, bloodied and followed by whatever local police units survived the first hit. They heard Whispers from among the Marines. If they knew the number of aliens, the losses sustained so far. Some even whispered of their family possibly making it alive out of the place.

Isara turned toward a Radio Operator as they began to speak. "Roger, Corps. This is RCT-3, moving across the MSR to reinforce units fighting by Lima Alpha. Charlie Bravo is under siege, civilians trapped inside, over." And the man took a pause "Negative, we can't redirect. Entire convoy will be needed for push down Lima Alpha. General Mattis' orders. Be advised, we got XCOM aboard, heading down MSR..." The Marine took another pause "Quicksilver. RCT-3 here, send traffic." And he sighed, then looked up... Isara did so too and gasped. Two flying vehicles Isara hadn't seen before rolled in above them. Sleek, heavily armored and with what looked like rotating blades, the heavily-armed vehicles flew in low above them.

The Radio Op peeked out above and said "Be Advised, all units:Quicksilver just told us that RCT-2, the ones we were going to support that were holding Front Line on Lexington Ave, just got wiped out! We're where its at now! The Birds from McGuire and Horsham will be moving in down Lexington and trying to sweep it clear, provide air cover for us! A-10s have been authorized for gun-runs in the area!" With calm. Mina glanced back at the trooper, then sighed.

"So we're in for the long haul! Contact Van Doorn and co and tell'em we have to dismount and form a front line! If the fuckin' X-Rays wiped out a whole Regimental Combat Team, we'll be in for the grind next!" Mina told him, then turned back and waved the to the troop transports to halt. "Ask Quicksilver to try not to hit friendlies with those air strikes! All XCOM units, dismount and take position in the buildings and surrounding alleyways, now! I have a feeling a big wave of X-Rays will be coming our way!"

The Marines, Army and National Guard dismounted at an intersection. The Convoy vehicles were put up as barricades along the MSR on the Boulevard and an intersection that took to the right in a diagonal. 50 cals were turned to greet an enemy wave as two Apache attack helicopters moved in low above them, escorting a pair of lightly-armed transport choppers. Black Hawks... Isara was sitting on the barricade next to a pair of Marines, readying her Laser Rifle and eyeing down the boulevard of burning buildings and destroyed cars, seeing lines of blood drawn on the walls, dead bodies littering the floor... She felt a knot in her stomach. Her mouth was dry... She swallowed empty. What was ahead of her was a horrific sight.

A burning tire rolled toward the line of Marines and the XCOM operatives and stopped onto the side of an MRAP... Joana's eyes were locked down the scope of her Laser Sniper. She eyed silhouettes in the distance. Human silhouettes. Running away. She saw a woman turn a corner onto the MSR/Avenue and scoped her in. Blonde hair, blue eyes, pale complexion... And her clothes were burning. She was bloody from head to toe, skin peeling off... A Marine threw up onto the hood of an MRAP as he saw the woman crumple into a heap, blood forming a pool around her as she basically melted under the emerald fire of Plasma. Isara had to focus hard not to turn away and keep her gun aimed as she saw that...

Another Black Hawk rolled up above them... But a boulder of Plasma sent it falling. The burning carcass of the helicopter melted as it crashed into the street ahead. Three cars blew up with it landing on top of them, ablaze. Joana's eyes locked onto the boulevard and she saw them... Mutons. Around fifteen creatures, supported by a Legion of Thin Men. Mina growled lowly, eyeing them down her own laser weapon... The sons of bitches would not pas through if she and XCOM had a thing to say about it.

"IT'S A GOOD DAY TO DIE, GENTLEMEN!" Iris grinned, aiming down her Laser Battle Rifle. Mina raised her hand and watched as Van Doorn joined her, an M249 SAW in hand and set it down on the hood of a Humvee. The 50s turned to greet the oncoming threat too. Sam sighed, racking the Scattershot Laser's pump and gazing down its short-range 1,5x Scope.

A Muton roared and a wave of Plasma came from its comrades. Rounds slammed into the MRAPs and trucks, narrowly missing the squads in the perimeter. It boiled the armor of the vehicles away, melting or destroying it... And Van Doorn barked "ALL UNITS, FIRE!" and the 50s roared. The high-caliber HMGs sent rounds down the range, slamming into the enemy's armor and either ricocheting or denting it. Riflemen returned fire with extreme prejudice and Machine Gunners and Auto-Riflemen shot too. Mutons, angered, moved into cover. Their Thin Mint counterparts jumped onto the tops of buildings and began raining down fire themselves. XCOM's snipers shot and nailed some of the Thins before they got a chance to fire.

Isara fired her beam weapon over the aliens ahead in hopes of keeping them pinned. The weapon hissed, lightly kicking up thanks to the emitted steam, but otherwise keeping steady. Two Marines beside her were firing with their standard-issue rifles at the advancing aliens, but their dinky 5,56 rounds did little against the Mutons' armor. That didn't stop the boys from firing on, though. One of them got sent flying, plasma boiling away at his abdomen. He fell behind one of the MRAPs, dead.

A 50cal went through a Muton's exposed bicep, exploding its upper arm and splattering yellow blood onto the hood of a destroyed car it took cover behind. The creature roared in absolute anger, pushing its comrades on to charge as it did too, with only one good arm. It fired its plasma weapon as it charged with its brothers, but a burst of laser fire between the eyes sent it tumbling to the floor. Another pair of Marines went down from the Thin Men's focused plasma fire. One of the Thin Men got its head blown off by Joana... And then a second. And a third.

Plasma sniped one of the 50s' gunners. He fell into the partially destroyed tank, his face missing. Lasers burned the walls as the XCOM Operatives fought back with every bit of energy in their arsenal. The unending squadron of Thin Men and Mutons, however, seemed to have other plans. Mina looked to the Radio Operator, who was firing his rifle, then ran toward him and barked over the gunfire, gritting her teeth "HOW MANY A-10 STRIKES ARE WE ALLOWED?!"

"Plenty, ma'am! Birds are just waiting for us to give'em coords!" The soldier responded, before he felt himself yanked out of the way when the top of one of his comrades got evaporated by a burst of plasma. Mina looked to him, then gave him a nod, before pointing at the Mutons and Thin Men and saying "TARGETS! NOW!" and running to Isara. The young girl fired her laser weapon on and on... Gritting her teeth.

She gasped as she saw a Plasma round rushing her way... She jumped out of the way of the emerald flame as it slammed into the floor beside her, before turning about on the floor just in time to see another National Guardsman get liquefied. Her eyes wide, she scurried back on her palms as riflemen fired. Sam's Scattershot Las clacked and bucked, making a Muton stagger. He dodged out of the way of another Plasma round too, before posting up beside Isara and watching as the General joined them, firing his SAW from the hip, by the carryhandle.

"Get her and the other Guardsmen up and out of here! I got you covered!" Van Doorn told Sam. The man nodded, lifting Isara up and hauling her away whilst sixteen Nat-Guard soldiers followed. The General's rounds punched clean through two Mutons' heads whilst he fired the machinegun with no fucks to give. The man grinned, then yelled to the aliens "COME ON! NOT FAIR IF I HAVE ALL THE FUN!" in taunt. Lead lined the Mutons' cover, the now abandoned MRAPs, Humvees and trucks, keeping them pinned. A Laser round punched a Muton's skull in and the General gazed upon XCOM's Romanian Sniper. She gave a smug grin to the General, before turning her rifle and firing at another Thin Mint.

"AIR COVER'S COMING IN! BE ADVISED:DANGER CLOSE! REPEAT, DANGER CLOSE!" The Radio Op called as the soldiers started to fall back from their transports. "GENERAL, IF YOU WANNA REDIRECT SOME FIRE SUPPORT, THE BIRDS' CALL-SIGN IS 'DEATH'! 01 AND 02 ARE ON STATION FOR US RIGHT NOW! THE REST OF THE SQUADRON'S DEALING WITH THE OTHER UNITS SEEING HARD COMBAT IN THE CITY! BE ADVISED, XCOM:TWO OF OUR DRONES GOT SHOT DOWN NOT FAR FROM US, BUT THEY REPORTED BUGS!"

Iris' eyes widened as she turned to Mina and she snapped "'LIDS?! WE GOT 'LIDS INCOMING!? AND WE BROUGHT THE KID WITH US?!" pointing to Isara. Mina sighed as she sniped another Thin Man. She waved the squad to form up. José, Iris and Sam joined with her, with Joana having lowered her rifle to get Isara back in shape. The Marines and National Guard joined up with XCOM, firing weapons to keep the Aliens away... And the droning of Jet engines once again came. A roar of hellfire struck the roads ahead, cleaning them of the destroyed vehicles and pulverizing alien and machine alike...

And then a burp sounded off...

Isara gasped, looking up as Marines and Guardsmen cheered, followed by Mina and the rest of the squad, Joana silently... The Ugliest aircraft Isara had seen yet swooped in low, firing what looked like incredibly-large rotary cannons in their noses, offset from the center. The High-Explosive depleted uranium rounds swept the two streets the Guard, Marines and XCOM were guarding with extreme prejudice, only to be followed up by guided payloads striking the empty buildings next to them and killing the Thin Man snipers. And the sounds the 30mikes made surprised Isara.

"FUCK YEAH, BABY! 30 MIKE-MIKE GAU-08! GROUND-POUNDING TERROR!" One of the Marines called out, raising his fist into the air. Van Doorn looked to the Radio Operator, who was grinning. He pointed back... And the squad saw them... A dozen M1A1 Abrams tanks rolling down the MSR. Van Doorn smiled too... And then looked to Mina, who gave a nod.

" _Strike-4 Actual. Central here. What the hell is going on?"_ Central's voice came over the radio " _The Operation area's radio traffic didn't allow us to get through to you. Status report?"_

"Got a bit stalled on the way to Chrysler, sir, but we're advancing now. Tanks broke through some of the shit going on up North, I think." The woman noted. "Though, can I tell you I feel underequipped, sir? The enemy just deployed two dozen Mutons and several Thin Mint snipers, sir. We're with a Task Force heading for Chrysler now, but I'm unsure if we won't get bogged down again."

" _Copy your last, Strike-4. Chrysler looks like the focus of the X-Rays too. Watch your fire down there, we're seeing Civilians not far from your position."_ The man noted.

"Roger, Central. We'll keep our eyes open. Be advised:We've got 'Lids on the ground again... I fucking hope those Civvies hid well enough. Actual out." Mina warned, sighing. She signaled the squads to form up and move out. Now advancing on each side of the boulevard, beside the tanks, the Marines, National Guard and XCOM operatives advanced on, keeping eyes peeled on the windows above, most of which were shot out or exploded by an earlier alien Bombardment.

The road was littered with corpses and cars still, some of which had been hammered hard by the A10s' earlier gun run... Isara, to Joana, seemed Pale. The woman turned to her, then placed a hand on her friend's shoulder and said "Don't look at the bodies, Is... It helps." as they walked. The girl swallowed, then nodded as they walked onward... Isara saw blown-out storefronts with charred skeletons hanging out of them, bodies of soldiers littering the streets, destroyed armored vehicles... She looked at the advancing tank platoon beside them. She swallowed...

Gunfire echoed a block ahead. A squad of Marines, pinned down by Plasma... Their unit moved in to help, but Isara froze as she saw _her_ standing there. Silver hair and scarlet eyes and clad in a revealing, skintight black uniform with a short cape and gold trimmings. In her hand a Light Machine Gun with the Imperial Markings on it, barking, blasting... Beside the Marines.

Isara lowered her laser rifle, eyes wide... The Silver-Haired woman gazed back, then knelt and waved the soldiers that came to reinforce them over. An Abrams tank rolled up beside them. Its main gun fired and whatever they were fighting died in a fireball. The woman sighed as she saw the soldiers walk up to them, clearly relieved... Then paused as she saw Isara. Slinging the heavy weapon on her back, she walked up to the girl...

"Isara Gunther?" She asked with hopeful eyes, before waking up with a rifle pointed at her. She raised her hands as Isara gave a glare that could pierce tanks

"Wow, wow, wow!" One of the Marines that was with her jumped, raising his hands and walking in front of Isara "This woman just kept our asses alive, kid! No need to be trigger-happy!" and glanced toward the XCOM operatives and Van Doorn... Isara raised a brow and lowered the Laser Rifle as she looked once over Selvaria... She sighed, then ignored the General. Something was going really fucking wrong with her world right now... The distant gunfire became quieter and quieter as, it seemed, the US armed forces were pushing the Aliens back...

Now having joined up with them, Selvaria walked beside Isara, her LMG drawn. They moved down the road toward the Chrysler, where the sound of gunfire was the most rattling... Alien units had moved in and bombarded the tower with enough firepower for half of its windows to be on fire while the other half was blown to shit. Mina growled, then gave a hand signal. The tanks scattered across the road and prepared to engage a high concentration of Aliens as they fought through to get underground...

A tank's cannon thundered, but Plasma responded in kind. Said tank blew itself apart from the inside out, due to the Plasma punching through into the ammo storage and igniting it, whilst also melting the blowout panels shut. Isara gasped, then looked up at the buildings and cried "THIN MEN!" and raising her rifle to greet them. The US Troops also scattered, 50s screaming, cannons thundering, rifles echoing.

Joana's sniper had already nicked two kills. Mina another one. And Marksmen also joined in. The Thin Mints were soft targets. The bigger ones were the Mutons that now noticed them and were advancing, rifles up, toward the soldiers and tank platoon. An A10 made another gun-run, its main gun burping several dozen rounds... Isara saw they had effect, but more foes came. And she froze with fear upon seeing them... Talons bloody, grotesque jaws clicking together, purple chitinous plating shining in the fires around and empty, hungry gold eyes glaring at her like she was a snack...

She froze on the spot, rifle clattering to the floor as she saw a Civilian that was running toward them get stabbed in the leg by one of the strange creatures, before being dragged back and pulled up by the creature's long, lanky, armored arms... Isara looked away as she heard a crunch and snap... Then a thunk... She saw the man's corpse drop to the floor... And the creature scurried toward her... She wanted to run, but tripped on a rock, falling onto her back. As the creature approached, she screamed... A shrill, frightened scream that echoed all the way to XCOM's base... It raised its Talons to greet Isara, but the girl once again stopped as she saw José jump into the way of the Talons... The bone protrusions, sharp as knives, punched through his legs, pinning him to the floor. He cried for help and prepared himself for death... But it never came. A laser round punched into the creature's jaw and sent it back, dead.

Isara looked back, to see Joana, sniper hissing and cracking on, having hit the creature. Machineguns rattled and Isara gasped as she saw General Selvaria Bles, the Silver-Haired Valkyria of the Empire, draw her sword and thrust into a creature's belly, punching through armor and killing it. She walked toward Isara and stood in front of the girl and José as Medics got to him... Isara stared at the man, who was crying for help as his legs were torn open at the thighs. He was crying, begging... His legs were turning black as the doctors removed his BDU's pants and blood pooled below him... Isara felt the urge to wretch, but suppressed it as Sam came in, firing his Las Shotgun into one of the creatures.

50 BMG tore through them like a hot knife through butter and Isara saw the tanks' operators manning the guns and firing, both cannons and guns at the same time. Thin Men died, Marines were felled by Plasma, Mutons exploded from tank shells and the strange new bug-like creatures died from direct contact with either Selvaria's blades as she parried and struck gracefully between the melee-powerful enemies and Mina and Joana's rifles hissed and shot. Iris ran to Isara and fired her Laser Battle Rifle, before looking to the girl and saying "We're nearly done, Isara! Hang in there!" but Isara couldn't hear anything as she saw the man that Chryssalid had just bitten into rise, his skin green, his eyes orange... She just felt... She wanted to... She wanted purely to...

 ** _Scream..._**

And she did... A scream louder than the last one, one so powerful, it echoed once more through the city. It reverberated enough to stun the Aliens and some of the soldiers within the city. The Mutons and Chryssalids looked so confused, as did that one Zombie a Chryssalid managed to raise, that the rounds passing through them had no opposition. The Creatures slumped, dying one by one as shot after shot made them tumble... Isara leaned back, crying warm tears as she looked up at the burning, tarry sky. She felt the rumble of tanks passing by her... And felt tired... So bloody tired...

She went limp...

XCOM and the US Army won the day with severe Civilian and US Military casualties. They sent the Aliens packing with more severe casualties that, for some reason, general Mattis felt they wouldn't feel too much. He'd wanted to personally greet XCOM's operatives, which played a pivotal role in holding off the aliens with their advanced weapons. After Isara was incapacitated, Strike-4 had found an Alien device that was gathering up a lot of radiation. A bomb similar to the one that halted Van Doorn's convoy. Unguarded after the deaths of all mutons and 'Lids around, the XCOM team disarmed it and went home, a former Imperial General, a current NATO General, a paraplegic man and comatose girl in tow.

 ** _-OPERATIONAL LOG-_**

 ** _OPERATION:VENGEFUL PYRE_**

 ** _OPERATIVE STATUS  
_**

 ** _LANCE CORPORAL ISARA GUNTHER-PROMOTED TO CORPORAL. FATIGUE NOT TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT. REST IN MEDICAL REQUIRED FOR 7 DAYS._**

 ** _TECH SERGEANT JOSE "DEEP TEAL" LUIS GONZALES-MAJOR WOUND SUSTAINED, LEGS REQUIRE AMPUTATION. RECOMMEND MEC PROGRAM REHABILITATION. RECOVERY PROJECTED:13 DAYS_**

 ** _MASTER SERGEANT MINA "OUTSIDER" VANDERMEER-FATIGUED FOR 3 DAYS_**

 ** _SERGEANT SAM "BOOMER" JANG-FATIGUED FOR 3 DAYS_**

 ** _STAFF SERGEANT IRIS "ROUTINE" SOKOLOVA-FATIGUED FOR 3 DAYS_**

 ** _STAFF SERGEANT JOANA "DEADSHOT" COMESCU-FATIGUE NOT TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT. REST IN MEDICAL REQUIRED FOR 5 DAYS._**

 ** _CIVILIANS LOST IN OPERATION:2-3 VISIBLE, 25,000 ESTIMATED KILLED/MISSING_**

 ** _US MILITARY UNITS LOST IN OPERATION:THREE NATIONAL GUARD BATTALIONS WIPED DURING FIRST ATTACK, FIFTEEN MARINE PLATOONS KIA/MIA. VEHICULAR LOSSES UNACCOUNTED. NOT REQUIRED._**

 ** _-END LOG-_**


	8. Altercations and Optimisations

"Can someone explain to me _what the hell_ happened down there?" Central asked, arms crossed. The Debriefing Room was occupied by Strike-4, whilst Joana was in Sickbay with Isara. Inside was also general Dan Van Doorn, with his aide, Major Glenn Friendly. Getting no answer, Central pinched the brow of his nose, then shook his head and spoke "The operation was a success, we got new allies, but what we just saw... That girl just showed signs of an alien power."

"Hell if we know..." Mina shrugged, worried. "She was on a mission before Vengeful Pyre, right? Might've been the combat stress and lack of sleep that triggered it, sir." The woman offered.

Bradford blinked a few times, then let out a deep, relenting sigh. If word got out that this girl could probably show alien powers, it was going to be an annoyance and a half for him not to have her shipped off to some random spot... He sighed deeply, then looked to everyone in the debrief and spoke calmly "Nothing of what happened to Isara in Vengeful Pyre is to leave this room. A leak could mean a possible detainment of the girl... And whilst I admit, studying how she exhibited those powers would be a great deal of help to us... I want it done at XCOM, in the least intrusive way possible... Dismissed for now."

"Sir, yessir." Everyone nodded, then stood up. Mina looked to Central, placing a hand on his shoulder, and spoke "She's a good kid, Bradford. We get you wanting to protect her." and then smiled "Your kids are gonna have the coolest dad ever, I can tell you that much." And he patted him on the shoulder, before walking away. Whoever else was present to hear the compliment chuckled, whilst Bradford crossed his arms...

As the last member of the Strike team left the room, Central was gathering his tablet and his coffee mug. He sighed. Coffee kept the world running and may he be damned if XCOM didn't provide a good cup of Joe... He turned to leave too, before seeing Doctor Vahlen, situated in the doorway. She looked much more... Maintained... For lack of a better word. The sleep schedule she'd put herself up to really did seem to help.

"Central Officer." The XCOM Doctor gave an expectant nod.

Central answered "Doctor. What's the news?" As he walked out, to go down the corridors with her. Base Security, Engineers, Techs and Scientists filled out the halls as usual, in a never-ending series of traffic. The two, however, found themselves walking through relatively free corridors, only greeted by the usual Base Security dressed in their dark-blue armors. Vahlen looked over her tablet, seemingly worried...

"Isara is recovering, as per expectations... But the combat stress, coupled with some of the things she has seen down in New York has triggered a strange neurosynaptic response, Central Officer." The woman noted, then gazed to Bradford. He seemed calm, listening to the woman... She continued "Whilst I cannot put it in the same spectrum as the Aliens' own Psionic powers, the readings I detected from Isara's own tags relating to her health were... Something beyond a human's normal levels."

She extended Central the Tablet, which the man took calmly. An MRI scan showed Isara's nervous system, muscular system and bone structure. Small changes in structure could be noted... A blood test run only a few hours ago and rerun barely an hour before she brought it to the man... Several modifications, although very minor, had occurred. The density of her muscle fiber improved. Her bones seemed to have hardened ever so slightly, if only for a bit. And her nervous system seemed more active, despite her current comatose status.

"... What am I looking at, Doctor?" Central inquired, surprised.

"What I believe to be a small jumpstart to miss Gunther's... Puberty, so shall we say." Vahlen noted, then cleared her throat, taking the tablet and pocketing it. "It appears it came with that Psionic surge we detected during Vengeful Pyre. Further testing may be required to prove some of my theorems, but... I believe Miss Gunther may have some degree of advancement neither she, nor we know about. And it has to do with her arrival here, I would bet. If she begins showing ability in the art of Psionics, we will need to know."

"Hmm... So you can research both her arrival and her... Modifications, in parallel?" The Central Officer noted.

"I can." The woman gave a nod. "... I've also started another hot topic project, however... Since this situation developed. I think you'll be interested."

Bradford smirked "Is it that old project I've been asking you to look over since we interrogated our first Sectoid?" And he saw Vahlen, despite all appearances, give a smile and a nod back. John chuckled, then said "That's going to give us a boost, since we're speaking of Psionics. Also, speaking of modifications... Did you look over that new woman?"

"I did go through a physical exam with miss Selvaria, yes." Vahlen nodded. "A very basic one, but once again, her body seems to outmatch normal humans. Speed, Strength... Everything. She trumps even our most elite and battle-hardened operatives. If I was allowed to do tests on her combat prowess as well, I could see how she does against gene-engineered troops as well."

"Granted. I should go talk to her, though... Where is she?" Central asked.

"In the Training area..." The woman noted.

"And... No guard saw fit to stop her?" Bradford raised a brow... Oh, God dammit, of course a pretty woman would make any Guard think twice about doing anything to halt her. Hell, Brad bet she'd have gotten an escort to the training area. He looked to Vahlen and said "We'll talk more later, Doctor... I have to go find that woman and any of our guards... And give a stern talking-to and latrine duty to the latter."

Vahlen gave a nod, then waved as Bradford ran... She chuckled, then muttered something to herself in German. As Bradford ran down the corridors toward the training room, he was greeted by several operatives, both male and female, running in the same direction. He looked to them, then asked "What the hell is going on, trooper!?" as he locked gazes with the man.

"Sir, new gal is beating down on 3 of ours! Apparently, Papa Bear thought it was a good idea to go try and flirt with her whilst drunk!" The trooper chuckled.

"Oh, For... Get moving!" Central barked...

Within the Training Room, a spacious hall with a gym, dojo, grenade ranges and even a pool... The crunch of a nose breaking was heard as the large body of one of XCOM's male operatives fell with a thud against the floor. The gathered crowd cringed upon the KO of their teammate... Papa Bear was rendered unconscious by General Selvaria Bles' punch. She stood there, staring at the other two with a killer glare. She had what looked to most Israeli operatives like a Krav Maga hand-to-hand stance... And those other two were stumbling on their feet...

One of them charged the General. She dodged a fist, tripped the man, then delivered an elbow into his shoulder blade. Following that, the second one came in, trying to attack her by surprise. Her reflexes, however, were too fast. Grabbing the man's hand by the wrist and stopping the first an inch from her face, she growled, then pulled the man forward and, using her weight, slammed him against the floor, before pouncing atop of him and delivering 3 hard punches.

She dodged as the second man came to strike at her again, instead making him punch his comrade in the gut. Rolling backward, the General delivered the tip of her boot to the man's chin, sending him back as she took to her feet. She took her stance once again, then glared at the man. He wobbled... Chuckled... Then fell to the floor, KO. General Bles dusted herself off.. Then , as she turned to leave, she heard another bastard charging her. She swiveled about, elbowed him, then prepared to draw her sword... To threaten the man... Until a voice came up "WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?!"

She took pause, keeping the sword sheathed and straightening up as the crowd around them all jumped... She turned to and gazed upon Central Officer Bradford. The man she'd spoken to when she first landed here. She turned to him, straight, then said "They jumped me, Central Officer." calmly. Bradford looked at the woman and at his wounded men, then sighed and showed medical crew to get to the deck and called to the crowd "ALRIGHT, PEOPLE! SCATTER! Get back to what you were doing! Bles, with me!"

The crews all moved to their workplaces now, some chuckling... Others being medics and actually taking the three KO boys to the sickbay. The General sighed deeply as she walked, before rubbing her forehead. She was not the type to do such misdemeanors, especially during one of her training routines. She knew that much. Shaking her head, she looked to Bradford as he stopped, then he too gazed back at her... And spoke "The fact that you're a general should prove you're above an infantryman's bouts of drunkenness-induced stupidity."

"It isn't my fault it got physical, Central Officer. I merely defended myself from... Unwanted physical attention." Selvaria spoke calmly.

"So it got physical before you or they threw the first punch? I'll check cameras, so be honest with me, General." Central warned.

"I stand by what I said, Central Officer. You can check the security devices if you so please..." The woman returned. She sighed, then looked to him and asked "If you do not mind me inquiring, how is Corporal Gunther? Has she awoken?" And Central looked upon the gaze of what felt like a young mother looking after her child. He shook his head and saw, as well as heard her sigh, her gaze going toward the floor.

"I'll let you know if her situation improves, General." Bradford spoke calmly. "For now, you should probably report to your tour officer in the Barracks, for now... If you are willing to stay with XCOM for the time being, that is." He then offered. The woman gave a calm nod, then Central sighed and said "You may want to get yourself acquainted to Strike-3 in the meantime and read the List... Trust me, it'll help."

"I... Uhh..." Selvaria raised a brow. Central chuckled, then dismissed her with a nod, before walking away.

... Down in the Sickbay, meanwhile, specifically in the Intensive Care Unit, or ICU, Jack, leader of Strike-3, had been sitting by Isara's bed for the better part of 3 days. He went for the usual toilet break or food grab, but otherwise he was hanging here more than when he was wounded. Gazing around the ICU, the boy saw several of the beds laying largely empty, save for Is's and Joana's. The latter was awake, eating lunch... Well, what accounted for as _lunch_ in XCOM. Her case wasn't as serious as Isara. A sleepless night and a few strained tendons. She'd be out of here sooner than Isara anyways. Docs usually say 10 days, but...

He sighed, then looked to the comatose Isara, who had an IV Drip in her arm, as well as an O2 mask and a few electrodes attached to her body, measuring heart rate and blood pressure. She wasn't in any harm, but the doctors and especially Vahlen said they wanted to keep her under watch. He rubbed the back of his neck and sighed deeply, feeling a pang of guilt. Had he not let her take the dive and go unrested into Vengeful Pyre, maybe she'd be fine now...

"Don't beat yourself up over it..." Joana spoke. Jack's head snapped up, looking at the girl. The Romanian sighed, then continued "She chose this and knew what she was getting herself into. No reason to blame yourself..."

"I could've denied her... I'm the squad leader. I am supposed to know what's best for the team." He noted... Joana sighed, then shook her head. Going back to her quiet state, she gazed upon Jack calmly, whilst the boy could do little but stare back... Her gaze was calm, soothing even his nerves... He exhaled, letting out tenseness, his shoulders, which he hadn't realized has been perked up and frozen stiff by his stress, slumped. She always knew what to do.

"Nngh..." Jack then heard it... A muffled voice from just a few inches in front of him. Isara... She was waking up...

Raising her left hand from under the covers of her bed, she felt the top of her forehead, then her face... Tugging, she pulled down the oxygen mask. The boy stood up, looking at her and leaning a bit closer. Isara blinked twice, her blurry eyes clearing, before she spoke "Jack?" slowly. The boy sighed in relief... As did Joana, audibly. Jack gave a nod to Isara, then answered "Yeah... You passed out..."

"... Well..." She chuckled, giving a smile "... Guess I was kinda tired..."

Jack nodded, then gave half a smile too and inquired calmly "Feeling better now?"

"Kinda..." She answered... Then looked down and blushed a healthy blush, staring with eyes wide at her hand "Uh... Jack? Please... Don't take this the wrong way, but... Can you let go of my hand? The IV drips and such are gonna get twisted..." And her squad leader raised a brow and looked down at his right hand... To see it'd been grasping Isara's... His half-smile disappeared and instead he blushed, straightening up and locking gazes with Joana... The Romanian girl had a smug grin on and was giggling, although silently... Turning her head back to her food.

Jack rubbed the back of his neck, awkward thanks to the moment, then said "... Sorry..."

"It's fine..." Is smiled, then rubbed the back of her neck. She saw her shoal hanging at the end of the bed and sighed, then looked to Jack and spoke softly "So... Uhh... Jack? What's the word? Will I be able to leave soon?" staring at the boy with those beautiful deep azure eyes... Oh, God dammit, why was the girl this cute? It had to be a criminal offense somewhere in the world...

"... You can probably talk to the docs." Jack sighed. He'd let the docs explain what she did to her.

Them or Joana...


	9. New Arrivals and Old Problems

A few days passed in XCOM, since Vengeful Pyre. The Flight Deck was active. But not for the reasons one expected. No, XCOM troops were not going for a mission, they were not out for an EXALT op or an extraction of an Operative in trouble. No, today it was something different... XCOM radio and intelligence had been pinged when an unauthorized person attempted to slide a data tap into an XCOM off-site computer. The situation was, as expected, quickly resolved by a pair of XCOM operatives dragging said person into a Van and Arc-Throwing him about a dozen times.

As the Skyranger, having been sent to recover the unknown, landed and the hatch opened, a body rolled onto the deck, shouting diverse expletives in English and Dutch, with zip-ties holding his hands tied behind his back and a bag over his head. Stopped by an XCOM operative, the man swore "Fucking headaches... Hey, asshole! I've still got a bag over my head!"

The soldier that greeted him, Papa Bear with a few cuts and bruises, knelt and removed his bag. A man with hazel hair and deep blue eyes greeted Papa Bear, grinning widely as he said "Cheers..." before gazing around the Flight Deck and whistling "Wow. Nice camp... So this is XCOM, isn't it? Wondered when you guys were gonna come pick me up." before feeling himself lifted to his feet by two other XCOM ops, only to be brought face-to-face with Central Officer Bradford himself.

"Mister Dunstan Pierce, the Criminal with more Death Row calls than hair on his head." Central Officer Bradford noted, giving a nod to the man. "Wondered when you were gonna slip up."

"I didn't slip up. I let you guys find me. Had to get to you." The man returned calmly, grin withstanding. Central rubbed his chin, then showed the Operatives to bring Dunstan along. The man looked around at the corridors and walls while he was being moved to a briefing/interrogation room. Base Personnel that worked with Intelligence, or as Special Ops, all seemed to recognize him, all confused as to why the very man a lot of Special Forces and Intelligence Agencies hunted was here.

"Seems I'm hella popular here." The man spoke.

"Not for good reason, trust me." Central answered calmly. They stepped into the interrogation room and the Guards shoved Dunstan in, seating him down in a chair before Central took a seat in front of him, on the other side of a table, as his hands were relieved of Zip-Ties, only to find themselves locked into a pair of metallic cuffs chained to the table.

"A lot of precautions. Thinking I'm gonna do somethin' to hurt you?" Dunstan joked, tugging slightly at his cuffs.

"No." Central said, arranging a set of files in front of him neatly. He set the stack down onto the table, then looked to Dunstan and asked "Why'd you want to find us? We that interesting to EXALT?" pressing the small questions first. Dunstan shook his head with the grin remaining, as if glued, to his face. The officer sighed, then said "Let me guess. Want a job with us? Why would we hire a terrorist? And for that, why would we need you, of all people? We could bring a Jihadi and he'd probably fight with more insanity than you."

"Because you people know jack shit about EXALT, the Aliens are a bigger nuisance to me than humans and I need a way out of my Death Row sentences." Dunstan returned calmly, working his magic. "That and I want a chance to kick their fucking asses myself. So what do you say we cut the bullshit and work together? Worst that can happen is I die by being shot in the face by aliens. Second worst case for me, I live through the war and either vanish or die by firing squad. Either way, what happens to me post-war is up to you. Give me in, let me loose, I don't care." He offered just as calmly as if he was offering an apple, his grin widening... He knew what he was getting himself into.

"You're basically offering yourself up like you have a choice anymore, Mr. Pierce." Central grinned back. "Welcome to XCOM. Report to the Brig for the time being. We'll have an interrogation later to discover any ulterior motives you may have. But for now, welcome to XCOM... You don't mind increased security or people watching you, do you?" to which Dunstan shrugged. He was used to that too, Central guessed. He then offered "What would you rather wear as a symbol. We can give you the dutch flag."

"No... Either archangel wings, or XCOM's insignia. I'm not wearing the Dutch flag, since to say I 'dislike' that place is a mild understatement." Dunstan stated simply. Central hummed, then wordlessly nodded and stood up. He let the two Base Security members in, releasing Dunstan from his table-mounted cuffs, putting on normal ones and leading him to the Brig... Central sighed, arranging his earpiece and making his way back to Mission Control.

... Down in Sickbay, Jack had been chatting with Isara for a bit. Joana was able to walk away just today and return to the barracks. She bid a quick goodbye to both, saying she has to rush up and talk to the others about their favorite blue-haired girl. As the two chatted on, Isara started chuckling, laughing even. Jack felt a relief that he could take her mind away from Vengeful Pyre. She seemed distraught when she first woke up, but now she was okay. Cheerful. Save for a moment or so when she remembered how and why she wound up on Earth, a mystery to him still. He'd ask when he felt it was right... For now, she was regaling him with tales of her life prior to her arrival here. Specifically, the start of her life in the Gallian Militia and her squad's first mission. Vasel.

"... So we were deployed on the ground in a Convoy, a dozen or so trucks, maybe 5 or 6 tanks, among which mine and my brothers, heading right for Vasel. I'll admit, I was frightened. But with how Bruhl went for us, I was more than happy to help my brother and my new squad." She noted, smiling. "Hehe, should've seen Welkin when we passed by a group of animals. He just wouldn't shut up about them."

"Your brother sounds like quite the enthusiastic biologist." Jack returned, leaning on his hands and listening intently.

"A Nature Freak is what a lot of us called him." Isara chuckled. "Especially some of our friends from a local Royal Family, the Siegfrieds. Matthew, the son, always laughed or berated Welkin over his habit of stopping during a lull in fighting to observe a local bug or fish or bird. He shrugged it off, focused almost directly on sketching and writing about the creature."

"Quite the passion." Her squad leader said, leaning back in his chair. "Wait, a Royal Family member fought alongside you in the Militia? Aren't they usually in the Regular army? And if he did fight alongside you, was he an officer?" He then remembered to ask, slightly surprised. Isara looked to him, then nodded and took out a picture of Squad Seven from her pocket that she'd colored, extending it to Jack and pointing to a hazel-haired man with blue eyes and a Dragon's emblem on his chest.

"That's Matthew Siegfried, son of House Siegfried and a Sergeant in Squad 7. Also close friends with me and my brother through our fathers, who fought in the First Europan War together." She explained, smiling as memories came to her about all of their adventures. Jack nodded, handing her the picture and gave a thumbs up. Their discussion paused for a second as they heard the sound of boots against the metallic floor of the Sickbay. Both looked to one of the doors, to see a young woman appear. She was tall, slim and cute, with black hair that went past her soldiers, as well as a pair of hazel eyes and freckles. She was wearing the standard XCOM fatigues. Her eyes were locked onto her tablet as she was either playing or writing...

She was focused enough that she hadn't noticed the two kids, even with her peripheral vision. Jack leaned slightly to the side, to see she was writing a report, then raised both brows. He stood up, then walked toward the woman and looked at what she was writing. Yep, it was a simple medical report... But she was a doctor that Jack hadn't seen before around. Raising a finger, he poked her in the hip... Causing her to squeak, blushing, and stumble, nearly dropping her tablet. She started panting, then exhaled, before turning her gaze to meet Jack and Isara... She chuckled awkwardly.

"Hey there... Didn't see you in here." She said, holding the tablet close to her chest and smiling. She rubbed the back of her neck, arranging her hair, then spoke "What's... Uh... What's up?" seemingly embarrassed. She seemed more awkward around people, but her laser-focus felt interesting enough. Isara looked at her, then smiled and stood up into a seated position.

"Oh, I and Jack were just talking... My name is Isara." The girl said in a friendly manner, extending her hand "What's yours?"

The girl looked to Isara, then gripped her hand and shook "Gillian Grayson. I'm a trooper, ranked Lance Corporal. Pleasure to meet you both." She then said, maintaining the smile. The two nodded, then said "Likewise." in unison. She sat back down in her chair, then set her tablet face-down onto the bed behind and asked "So... I presume you two are also soldiers, considering the fatigues? What're you in the Sickbay for?"

"I'm here because I collapsed mid-mission..." Isara gave an awkward giggle, blushing and looking to the side.

"And I'm staying with her until she's discharged from the Sickbay and able to walk to our barracks." Jack noted in his usual calm way. "What about you, miss Grayson?"

"I was just doing the rounds and writing a report." She answered, seemingly just a bit tense. "You guys are a bit young, aren't you?" She then asked. Both nodded, not even bothering to deny the situation. Gillian raised a brow, then shrugged. Probably for the better she didn't question Higher-ups. Sure, she had been on-base for a little while, but she hadn't met all Strike teams. "What Strike unit are you guys from?"

"3." Jack said. "I'm its commanding officer."

"Ah, awesome! I heard rumors of you guys picking up what amounts to an alien and she's in your squad now." Gill gave a smile. Isara, holding her shoal, then waved at Gill. She gasped as she realized and squeaked "Oh, my God, you're her!" with joy. "Just like the rest of the base described you. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintances, you guys."

"Likewise, miss Gillian." Isara nodded.

"It's just Gillian, Isara." Gill returned. She looked to her tablet as it pinged, picked it up, then calmly added "Well, it was nice to meet you, but I have to go write up this report for now. See you around! And best of luck in your recovery, Isara." with a modicum of joy. She started to walk, smiling. Bot from the door she left through, Doctor Vahlen emerged, calmly walking toward them with a tablet in her hand. She nodded to Gillian as she walked past, but the girl seemed not to notice. Vahlen shook her head, then walked in.

"Hello, Isara." The Doctor greeted calmly, looking at the girl.

"Hello to you as well, Doctor." Isara smiled. "Any news?"

"Yes. Quite a few, all of which are good news." Vahlen answered proudly. "First of all, you may leave the ICU and medical bay today. I've signed the papers to allow your return to your squad." and she saw Isara's face light up, with Jack giving a thumbs up with just a hint of a smile appearing at the side of his mouth. Vahlen gave a nod, then continued "Second, I believe the first stepping stone into discovering what has happened to you in your transfer here and during Vengeful Pyre has been revealed." with Isara growing more and more excited as she added more "Said stepping stone lay in a power that so far, only the aliens could project... But now, with a discovery we've made, we believe we may too. It is called Psionics, the powers of the mind. So far, what we've achieved is theoretical, but easy to prove. Our engineers are currently constructing laboratories for Psionic testing. Once they are built, I wish to ask you to join me there."

"Of course, doctor..." Isara said, smiling as she set her shoal on her person, over her fatigues. She put on her boots, tied them and then moved up to the good doctor, staring up at her with a smile. Vahlen looked upon the girl and gave a nod, before Isara's arms wrapped around the woman's waist... She blushed, making Jack cross his arms and hide a grin... She patted Isara on the head... "Thank you so much..." Isara could only say, nuzzling her face in Vahlen's toned belly. For a scientist, she was slim.

"It isn't a problem, Isara..." Vahlen said, awkwardly patting her head. Isara backed away, smiling the happiest smile Vahlen had seen so far. Contagious enough that even the side of the doctor's mouth bent into a smile. She gripped her tablet tighter, coughed, then said "Well, with all this considered, I will send a message to Strike-3's terminal when the time has come for you to join me in the Psionic labs, Isara. Take care now, _kinder_." She looked to Jack and with a tilt of her head forth, she turned around and left the room.

Jack and Isara looked to each-other and Jack allowed her to grab whatever effects she needed from the ICU before the two turned for the Elevators. The short walk through the halls found them in the Barracks, right at the door of their room. Jack raised his hand and knocked on the door, to which the rounded bulkhead split open... Only for their favorite Weaboo Shotgunner to appear, unkempt and with messy hair... Her eyes went wide as she saw Isara... Then she smiled and pounced on both her and their squad lead and crying aloud joyously "YOU'RE BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK! OHMYGOD IT WAS SO DAMN BORING WITHOUT YOU AROUND, IS! AND I'M HAPPY TO SEE YOU TOO, JACK!"

Isara couldn't contain herself there... She burst into laughter as she hugged back their comrade... Jack, meanwhile, sniffed the air and said... "Uh... Aya? Did you not shower for these past few days, or..." He got more serious, with a deeper voice "Did you and Armin do something that's against regulations?" making the girl freeze, lip trembling as the smile seemed to stick to her face, but instead of joy, it was fear... The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end...

Isara continued laughing... Ah, she missed this... But something wasn't right. Noticing a strand of silver hair appear, clad in fatigues that barely fit her, there she stood, on her own two feet, scarlet eyes staring at Isara with shock... The girl's happiness immediately dissipated as she jumped to her feet and went for a holster on the back of her belt, that was seemingly standard issue for all XCOM off-duty uniforms.

Selvaria raised her hands defensively, then called out "Miss Gunther, please, don't... I want only to talk."

"About?" Isara growled, cocking the pistol and removing the safety... She'd never been this angry in her life and she knew it too, but she just couldn't... Just couldn't forgive an Imperial. Hand trembling around the pistol's grip, she gasped as she saw her take out an insignia... The Dragon crest of Siegfried. Eyes wide, Isara slowly took her hand away from the gun as Selvaria looked at her... The silver-haired woman sighed, relieved that the altercation was avoided.

"I can explain everything that has transpired since your death, miss Gunther... And why I have this." She said, pointing to the insignia. "Just... Please, let us simply talk for a change. I am not here to cause harm to XCOM or the people of Earth." and she saw Isara sigh, trying to relax. Isara seemed to tremble, having gone pale, but she settled quickly, looking at Selvaria.

"Hope you've got a good explanation, General..." Isara noted, trying to hide her anger. "C'mon inside..."

"Uh..." Aya raised a brow, confusion visible on her face. She tried to understand and wanted to ask their background, but Jack tapped her on the shoulder and shook his head. She shrugged, then sighed and smiled again, before wrapping her arm around Isara's neck and hugging her closer. "Ugh, I'm just _soooo happy_ to see ya again, Is! It's been boring here without you! Ain't that right, Armin?!"

"I'm not complaining! It was quiet!" The German returned, grinning.

"Don't be an ass!" Aya yelled back, annoyed. Isara snorted, covering her mouth, then giggling. Yeah, it was good to be back. Aya and Armin were always good comic relief for her. She looked to Selvaria, who was giggling too, then shrugged and rolled her eyes. She pointed at her, then gave a thumbs up and raised a brow. Selvaria scratched the side of her head, before realizing it was a question... 'Was she actually good?' as in 'ally' good. She gave a nod and thumbs up too, before lowering her hand. Isara sighed, then looked to her team and saw Joana wave at her, with Armin grinning and giving a thumbs up... Questions would be answered today, _but later._

* * *

 ** _AN:Should've put this when I had the chance yesterday, but I was tired when it was posted and nearly forgot..._**

 ** _Anyways, hello everyone! Been a while. I'm here to explain the two characters that we met in this chapter and tell you a bit more about them._**

 ** _Dunstan Pierce, created by a friend of mine and member of an RP Group meant for the XCOM:RWBY Within/Remnant Unknown series, for that RP Group, is a former Private Security Contractor that didn't wanna sit idly by while the world was on fire. He's done some questionable things to get himself captured and recruited by XCOM. Things I'll mention later on as the story progresses. The man who created Dunstan goes by the name of famas on Discord. And I'll be damned if he ain't fun to RP alongside._**

 ** _Gillian Grayson is a similar case, created by another fellow RP Member, she is a young woman who joined XCOM after her service in the Italian military. She's more shy when meeting people she doesn't know, but she's friendly and focused on her tasks at the base, whilst in combat, she's a force to be reckoned with. The creator of Gill is named Joey and, again, is a great Roleplayer. If you ever get to join the group, say hello to everyone when you enter. They're all friendly._**

 ** _Well, that's all for now. Any questions you have, you can PM me, or put them in reviews. Later!_**


	10. Consolation and Consolidation

"... Go ahead, general. I'm listening." Isara noted, sitting down on her bunk. General Bles... Well, PFC Selvaria Bles, as she was known now, seemed tense. She fiddled with her thumbs, unsure of where to start. Isara raised a brow, seeing the uneasiness in the general. She was unsure of what to think herself. Without proof coming right from Welkin's mouth or from anyone in the squad, she was gonna take everything coming out of the Imperial General's mouth with a grain of salt.

"So... It started after Fouzen. I believe you recall an Imperial Ace by the name of Oswald the Iron, correct?" Selvaria asked, looking at Isara with hopeful scarlet eyes. The young Darcsen gave a nod, then listened. If this was about that man, she knew it was something good. Selvaria calmly continued, fingers interlaced, hands laying on her lap. "Oswald... Captain Johann Eisen Oswald was my second-in-command. We led the incursion into the Gallian fortress on the north of your border with us, without much reprisal. There, he proved himself to be a competent, brave soldier, having saved me and many of my men from death... I don't think this was told in official news bulletins, but-"

"General Georg von Damon used Ragnide Gas to keep your forces at bay..." Isara recalled, leaning on her hands. "And he saved you from death by a weapon of war that was outlawed... General Siegfried told us it was discovered during an investigation. Damon gave in and chirped like a canary after some local soldiers also confessed, giving away everything that'd happened in and around Ghirlandaio. To say our nation is free of crime is something close to ignorance. We were the defenders, but we did plenty of nasty things too... Our Regulars did, at least. It is... Good for you that you had the Captain with you."

"Yes... Quite." Selvaria said fondly... She then looked Isara in the eyes and continued "Your squad had rescued and helped Johann heal... And what I didn't understand is what your brother, Lieutenant Gunther, had done. He let Johann, a Captain of the Imperial Army and closest aide to one of the Generals of the invasion of your homeland leave for our lines unhindered. I looked dumbfound at Johann when he himself spoke those words to me in the Ghirlandaio command post."

Isara smiled. "I remember Welkin letting Johann go. Rosie and Largo were near to pulling the guy back by the collar, but Welkin restricted them from doing so... I agree, it was a poor tactical decision, but it was what was humane. And Welkin is more focused on humanity than on tactical thinking when it comes to soldiers... Johann also did mention you, General. And how he thought you probably would take note of his absence."

Isara had left a few parts out of what Johann had said to them. The guy also spoke about how the General would probably regret Johann as nothing more than a soldier and a good aide, but nothing beyond that... And then he mentioned about her cooking for him and Isara realized that more was going on about the General and him than the poor kid had been let on to.

"Johann told me later about the Siegfried family. About the general known as William, the man who took control of the Gallian Army in the latter half of the war. A war hero like your father, even fought alongside the great Belgen Gunther and Theimer. Soldiers who cared for the well-being of your country and your people. Honorable... Gallian forces under his command clashed with mine constantly. Small counterattacks, fire missions, assaults... His rearmament program was shaping up to be an issue. And then, during a frontline battle not too long after your... Death, we simply..." The General then took a pause, feeling the air become heavier and heavier...

She looked to Isara, who seemed surprised and paler than before... Then she saw her teammates, who all gasped. Voss had straightened up and Joana stood from her bed and walked toward the Darcsen Engineer... She froze, then covered her face as the memories of her death seemed to resurface... As did all of her emotions from the start of XCOM. Jack looked to the General, shocked, then asked "She... Was killed?"

"..." Selvaria couldn't believe it... The girl didn't... It was understandable that she didn't want to... She gazed upon Isara, then spoke quickly "I'm so sorry... I... I didn't realize you hadn't told them..."

Isara started to sob... She shook her head, leaning on her hands. Aya took a seat beside her and hugged her, with Jack kneeling in front of the girl. He lay a hand on her knee. It was a burst of emotion that wasn't supposed to happen. Isara had forgotten about it... She'd started living with the idea she was in XCOM, she had friends here. A Squad. Even if she'd been here only for a few weeks... Perhaps a month and a half at most.

Had she simply been shutting the memory out? Was she just... Ignoring the problem? She'd... Goodness, she had died. It all came back now, the sorrow, the shock, the darkness she lived through during her transfer here. Jack swallowed, then wondered aloud "How has Vahlen reminding you about the experiments to send you home not triggered this?"

"I... I don't know..." Isara choked, sobbing. "I... It was the Doctor, being supportive, reminding me I could go home... Nor she, neither you know about the circumstances of how I got here..." She continued weeping, before looking to the General and saying "Don't blame yourself... I... I've been holding the problem back, trying to forget why I am even here in the first place..."

Selvaria gasped... Poor girl... She stood up, then stepped toward her and knelt beside Jack, cupping the girl's chin in her right hand, then starting "Miss Gunther... Isara... I hope you don't mind me calling you by that name..." She then inquired. Receiving confirmation that Isara didn't mind via a single shake of her head, Selvaria wiped the tears away from the girl's eyes as she continued "I am in much the same predicament as you... Much has developed across Europa since your departure from our world. Travesties that, had I not met General Siegfried and his son, would have thought of as good. Isara, I was killed fighting in opposition of a new Imperial weapon that came onto the field. Your friends recruited me, managed to break through that bastard, Maximilian's programming... I gave my life for them when that vile obscenity of a weapon came into view. Do you know what it was, Isara?"

"What?" The young girl started to settle down now, but her eyes were still welling in tears.

"... A Valkyria, Isara. A Valkyria that was so... Corrupted... So twisted from her original human form, the poor girl... I thought I would not have the stomach to face it. I thought that, had I stayed a little while longer, that would've been me in Imperial hands. Had I not been saved by William, by Matthew... Even by Johann, I would probably have been one of their monstrosities now. I admit, I died for the sake of Squad 7, the Gallian Army and the Imperial deserters that came with me to the Allies' side... What you went through is horrific, Isara. I cannot imagine how you must've felt in the first few days here."

"She was completely silent." Aya noted, looking at the girl "But we snapped her out of it." The Jap then grinned.

"Good... You had an anchor into the real world, Isara. I don't doubt that, had you fallen into the hands of the creatures attacking Earth, or... Heavens, just wound up alone in one of their cities, you would've had much to mend and nobody next to you. Your team was your anchor, so you forgot about the death. Forgetting may seem good, but all those emotions would resurface. But your death drove your brother forth. Your squad has, with your memory, fought and retaken swathes of Gallia. All of their victories led to me meeting General Siegfried and switching sides. And now that I know you are alive and that there is a chance, given to us by XCOM, to return home to those we know and cherish, I know you'll keep it close through our campaign here."

"And you've got us by your side." Aya ruffled Isara's hair, smiling sadly. "You died, Is... Big whoop. At least whoever sent you to us gave you a second chance at a beautiful life and a chance at returning home. XCOM and Strike-3 will be behind ya 100%. And we'll be right there whenever you need us." she stated, her smile turning to a proud one, before she gazed upon a surprised Jack and said "Ain't that right, Sarge? You'll be _right behind_ her... Eh?" before nudging him and winking.

"Aya..." Jack glared daggers at the Japanese operative. She chuckled awkwardly, then backed away. Armin laughed, then sat down beside Isara and gave her a friendly punch in her shoulder, before adding to the conversation "Rookie, I'm gonna be honest with you. Ayaya's got a good point here. You're among XCOM Operatives. Teammates. I'm an asshole, but I still am one of your teammates. We got your ass covered."

"Especially me." Joana spoke up, joining them around Isara. "I'm the snapshot sniper here. Can't leave my lil' Engineer pal die before she unleashes a hailstorm of grenades. And before she gets home."

Aya looked to Jack, before asking "Anything to add, Sarge?"

All eyes turned to Jack... He sighed. It was time to pull the squad leader speech. Standing up, he inhaled, then stared calmly "Isara, I can honestly say that I've got no idea what to add." And that garnered some chuckles out of the team, including Selvaria and a seemingly recovering Isara. The boy gave a half smile, looking at Isara and added "I'm joking, of course... Isara, you've been a welcome addition to this squad's roster and a good friend to all of us. You're a kind soul and a girl I think all of us are thankful has joined XCOM. We've been on... Two ops so far together. For Joana, three, if we count Vengeful Pyre. You've been a boon for us and a great help with that wonderful long-arm throw of yours. But most of all, we're glad to know that you got sent to us. You're Strike-3 now. One of us. And I'll be damned if I or the others will let anything change that."

Selvaria actually smiled... The stern general couldn't withhold the smile on her face. And nor could Isara, apparently. Who was now crying again, but... With a smile, this time. As she wiped away tears, Isara said through the tears, with a trembling voice "Thanks, guys... It means more than you can imagine to have you around." And then she gasped as Aya pounced on her with joyous, childish laughter coming out of her mouth. The Japanese girl yanked Jack into the pile, who by extension grabbed Armin and Joana by mistake, all diving into a Strike-3 group hug.

Selvaria smiled. A truly tight-knit team. As close as they came. Even with Isara, who probably wasn't even that new to XCOM's war. Isara wailed for help, but whilst laughing. All of this was regarded by Central Officer Bradford through a cam on the outer hall. The door to Strike-3's room was left open and the microphone was high-powered enough. The Officer, usually stern and calm, couldn't stow his own smile.

He set his tablet down on a desk next to him in his room, then took a look out toward the Geoscape via his one-way mirror windows. Activity was on the down low. The Aliens were preparing for something. He knew that much... But at least the small things still made him happy. Strike-3 was a good team. Close enough to Strike-1 in teamwork, even though all of them were misfits. It was refreshing to know humanity could put their differences aside if it meant saving the planet. For now, though... A coffee and the new research project... Elerium or Ragnite? Both resources were rare and XCOM had... More Elerium than Ragnite, ironically. Of course, Isara had only come with a finite amount of that resource. And General Bles brought another couple of small canisters all by herself... He'd have to ask Vahlen about it.

For now. Ol' Cuppa Joe...


	11. Your New Handler

Strike-1 had been called up to serve. Isara watched them march off the deck, toward their operation:To counteract a bomb planted on local bridge. She watched as Van Doorn, new member to the team, walked off with Papa Bear and the others. She rubbed the back of her neck, then looked to Jack, who seemed lax today, but was still maintaining his demeanor.

"You think they'll be okay?" Isara questioned.

"They're the best we got." Aya answered with a smirk. "Don't worry, Is... It'll be fine." She then stated. Jack tapped his chin with his index twice. Something big was going on again if all of Strike-1 was called up for ops, including Van Doorn, who, while not exactly new to battling the aliens, was a rather new addition to XCOM, who had almost immediately received Lieutenant ranking.

"Alright, I trust you." The girl said, crossing her arms. Joana, meanwhile, seemed her usual ice-cold serious as she regarded the soldiers marching out of their line of sight into the aircraft. It'd been a good two weeks since Vengeful Pyre and the Aliens had made several major moves that Isara couldn't be a part of, due to the doctor having to check up on her well-being and on further 'Psionic Developments' as she called it.

For better or for worse, Strike-3 was resting at base...

In the Rec Room, Isara sat quietly in a corner, at one of the tables, listening to the slew of chatter among XCOM operatives. Two weeks of sitting on her ass and doing nothing was starting to get to the young Operative. She fiddled with a device she'd gotten from Doctor Shen to keep her busy. She didn't know what it was, but she knew it worked like the usual communication devices for those on Earth. She scoffed as she stung herself in what stood for its battery, rubbing her index to relieve the numbness after the little electric shock. She sighed...

"Uhm... Miss Gunther?" Selvaria's voice spoke. Isara's eyes turned to greet the silver-haired Valkyria.

"Hello, General." The young girl spoke calmly.

"I came to ask if you'd require some help." Selv offered.

"I'm okay for now, General, thanks..." The Darcsen answered, her gaze locking back to the item at hand. Selvaria frowned, then sighed. She was about to say something, before the girl raised her index up and said "Gotta focus, General... I know what you're gonna say... I'm still iffy on trusting you, but for now, I'm willing to give you a chance." before pressing further and reopening the device. She gasped, then said "Ah, got it fixed!" with a smile. "Strange item, this thing." She then said, placing the golden black cover back on and looking over it... A Smartphone, as far as the General heard.

"You were fixing that? For who?" The woman asked, a brow quirked up. Isara whistled in a low pitch and said "Sergeant Diaz! I fixed it!" as a shorter, more physically toned man approached the table, a smile on his face. He had short, trimmed black hair, a clean, short mustache according to XCOM regulations, as well as a pair of black sunglasses that hid the color of his eyes. He also sported XCOM's off-duty, on-base green uniform shirt, pants and boots.

"Thank you, Corporal." The man said as he was handed back the phone. He pocketed the device, then said "What was wrong with it?"

"Battery was probably placed wrong, though I'll admit, that's the smallest battery I've seen yet." Isara explained. "It had to do with the connectors not properly linking to the power output points..."

"In short, you had to place the battery the right way 'round..." Diaz hummed. "I wanna ask how it got put in the wrong way, but I figure I'm not gonna like the answer. One of ours probably trying to prank me, or something." He then shrugged "Oh, well, thanks anyways, Corporal Gunther. Saved me from having to buy a new one once I got out of XCOM."

"Come to think of it, Sergeant Diaz... If I'm not prying too much by asking, why do you need it?" Isara inquired.

"I've got a few things saved on it that help me around base, plus it's a memento from home, just like the sunglasses." The man answered calmly. He saw General Bles sitting on the side, legs crossed, then turned his head to her and said "Good afternoon." to which Selvaria hummed and nodded. She waved to him, then turned back to Isara and shrugged.

"Ah, right, sorry." Isara chuckled, rubbing the back of her neck. "Sergeant Diaz, this is former general, now PFC Selvaria Bles. She and I shared a similar fate that had us both inducted into XCOM. General, this is Sergeant Rodrigo "Crusader" Diaz. Strike-2's commander."

"A pleasure." Selvaria nodded politely.

"Likewise, ma'am." Diaz offered with the same demeanor. "I'll be going, Corporal."

"A good day, Sergeant." Isara nodded, smiling. She watched the man walk away, with the phone, before turning to Selvaria and noting "All of XCOM's people are very kind if you get to meet them." before noticing Gillian walking by and waving to her. Gill waved back with a smile as she held her tablet close, strolling toward one of the kitchen to make her own food.

"Presume it's an acquaintance from medical?" Selvaria asked.

"Yep. Gillian Grayson. Apparently one of the groundside Medics." Isara hummed. "Quite a friendly girl, too."

"I'll take your word for it, since I've yet to speak to any of the XCOM members as of yet." Selvaria shrugged "Save perhaps for the commanding trio and your own team." She then said. Isara nodded, then sighed and looked up at the vaulted Rec Room ceiling. She then turned her head to the alcove that now housed the Memorial Wall. Selvaria frowned as she too saw the names written upon it, with pictures and flowers and shot glasses set below the names. 30 in less than 3 months... It was too much for Selvaria to even think about. And their own faced thousands of casualties, the Gallians tens of thousands.

Isara sighed, then felt something in her pocket buzz. She took it out, only to reveal a flat screen device similar to that of Diaz's. It had an XCOM emblem on the back of the cover and a message. From Shen... _'Miss Gunther, if you would like to come down to the Repair Bay, now renamed into the MEC Bay, I can present to you the fruits of the Project I and doctor Vahlen have been working on. Tech Sergeant Gonzales has recovered well and seems to be happy to still be able to fight.'_

Isara smiled... At least Luis was not a casualty to add a 31st name to the list of dead. She looked to the General, then said "Doctor Shen called me down to see a certain project they've been working on down at RnD... If you don't mind?" and she received a small half-nod from Selvaria, who stood up and bid a quick goodbye, before walking to the kitchen. Isara stood to her feet and walked toward the elevator, only to be joined by several off-duty Techies from the base's Geoscape. They gave her nods, two of them being female and two more Male, before they got off on a different floor. Presumably XCOM's Non-Combat personnel barracks. She leaned against the grating that separated her from the elevator shaft and waited until she came down to one of the lower levels, before stepping off to her right.

She walked off through a couple of satellite uplink stations, those that kept XCOM in touch with its surroundings on Earth, their coordinated dishes linking to at least 3 satellites together. She bid a hello to the Engineers working at their stations here, then strolled into a large hall. She found herself atop a catwalk, with a cot that had dozens of computers to her left and the technicians working on them. To her right was an operating table with small OR bots and sets of prosthetic limbs hanging on the wall. It was awe-inspiring, to say the least... She then cocked her head to see Doctor Shen sitting by the railing, with a smile.

"Ah, Isara. Come along." The friendly old doctor offered, showing Isara to take a position beside him. She nodded as she walked toward the railing, then gasped as she looked down into the pit... Several engineers manned an exo suit about two and a half times a human's height, its metallic limbs plated with what Isara could only assume was reforged alien alloys. Sitting in a large holder beside the suit was a single weapon. Two prongs, which had a pair of rails down the middle and a set of electromagnets behind each rail, hidden cleverly in the body of the massive tank-sized weapon. And the man in the suit was no other than Jose.

As the techs stepped away from the machine and several wires detached, the man inside the machine started moving... And the limbs immediately responded to the movement of his arms and legs. The first step he took forth was a stomp that sent a rippling thunder echoing throughout the entire hall. Isara's eyes went wide as she saw Jose fiddling with his new arms and legs, grinning to his ears as he did so, before turning to the doctor and her and giving a thumbs up.

"All projections nominal, Doc Shen!" One of the Techies gave a thumbs up, grinning. "The Tech Sergeant's doin' just fine!"

"You kidding me, _amigo_? I'm better than 'just fine'!" The man laughed happily. "Doc, what _can't_ this suit do!?"

"For now, Corporal, just fly." Shen said optimistically "It is good to see you taking this in stride."

"Oh, I'm gonna be payin' back the aliens in stride, Doc! God bless you!" The guy grinned, punching his fist into his open palm. Isara also noticed several addons on the wall next to the weapon cradle with the Rail Gun. A Flame Thrower, a melee system nicknamed the 'Kinetic Strike Module' as per the tag below it, an area-of-effect medikit, an AOE EMP device and a grenade launcher. All in all, a pretty powerful arsenal... Though Isara doubted all of it could be mounted to this MEC suit.

"Impressed?" The Doctor asked.

Isara nodded, smiling, then said "I am, doctor. It's good to see Jose back to his full as well... I haven't seen him in the ICU, but I am glad to know he was in good hands." She then offered, turning to the doctor, who gave a nod. Isara then chuckled and yelled at Jose "Hey, Tech Sergeant! See if you can't roll forward!" to which the newly-minted MEC Trooper snickered and gave a nod... While Shen looked terrified.

 _... Meanwhile... **In the Brig**... _Dunstan Pierce sat alone for the nth time in his life, hands cuffed and eyes gazing out toward the armed guards sitting by the thick glass door to his cell, wearing plated armor and carrying what looked like sci-fi laser weapons. He still bore that shit-eating grin on his face, just more subsided now, as he sat on nothing but a bunk, waiting for a supposed 'Covert Ops Commander' to stride in and talk him through his future job here... And there she was...

A blonde-haired woman with deep blue eyes, wearing an azure XCOM cap, with the XCOM logo sown on the forefront, appeared in front of the guards. Her hair was caught in a ponytail on the back of her head and wrapped around her neck were a pair of wireless communication headphones and in one of her hands was a tablet. She wore a sleeveless leather jacket below which a black turtleneck resided, XCOM logo barely visible on the left, as well as dark-blue jeans and a pair of dress shoes... And Dunstan's grin widened as he saw the telltale bulge under her arm. A pistol holster... She said something to the Guards and they stepped aside, sliding a card to open the door. The woman strolled inside, calm and wearing her poker face.

"Dunstan Pierce." She said with a hint of snark in her otherwise calm voice. "You're quite a hard man to find."

"Even harder to catch." Dunstan offered back as the woman grabbed a chair from the side and sat down in front of Dunstan.

"Yet, here we are." The woman returned, looking at her tablet. "Dozens of counts of aggravated assault, possession of illegal firearms, high-level officials murdered... The list goes on. Half the states in the world want your head on a pike, many of them with the death penalty abolished." She then looked him in the eye as she spoke "So... Why slip up now?"

"I told your Central Officer everything he needed to know... Let me summarize it for you, though:Aliens are fucking up the world I'm working in, that means they're fucking up my clients and some people I'm meant to fuck up." He smugly responded, watching as the woman typed on her tablet. He snorted, grin widening yet again, before asking "You trying to psych profile me? Trust me, many have tried that and they couldn't."

"I'm not the many, Pierce. I'm the few." She said, placing the tablet on her lap and once again looking Dunstan in the face. "I know very well why you're here. I was asking why now?"

Dunstan took pause, thinking for a moment, before he noted "Same reason you brought a gun to an unarmed man's cell." with a grin.

"Safety?" She once again returned, poker face still on and having figured out that Dunstan noticed the gun... She made it obvious, though, so the guy was sharp and noticed the small details... Good. "Well, Pierce, I don't know what Safety you can expect from XCOM... We fight Aliens for a living, so you know it ain't the safest job around." She spoke to him calmly.

"If I wasn't looking for a fight, I wouldn't be here... But you know what I mean." Dunstan returned, leaning back against the wall next to his bed.

"... It's a tough call to make, but we'll see... If you play nice, it might happen." She bit back, holding onto the 'no emotion, no remorse' thing pretty well. "Anything you need that I can get right now?"

"These cuffs off. I assume those two retards outside gave you the key?" Dunstan nodded to the Guards, one of which raised his middle finger at Dunstan. The Dutch Archangel operator laughed, then said "You too, buddy!" as the woman took out the key. She stood up, then showed Dunstan to stand up too... He extended his cuffed hands and the woman grabbed them, then yanked him forward, pushing his hands down and bringing him face to face, Key still in her hand.

"Let me be very clear, Pierce. Fuck us over in any way, shape, or form" She spoke, maintaining her Poker Face even as she threatened him, then continued as she saw a visible shiver run down the man's spine, despite his face not showing fear... "And I will be the one to personally put a bullet in the back of your head and leave you in a ditch. I hope you get me." She finished off, receiving a nod from the man. She then raised his hands close to the key and removed the cuffs, tossing them on the bed inside the Cell. The man rubbed his now free wrists, then nodded, grinning still.

"One last thing." The Dutchman spoke, seemingly a hint more serious...

Sue raised a brow, then gave a nod to the man to go on.

"What's your name?" He inquired, arms crossed "Just so I know what to call out when I curse my would-be executioner." He then quipped, grin returning.

"... Sue Susan. You can call me Sue." She answered, then turned about and walked out the door, with Dunstan tailing behind her "Now, c'mon. We've got business to attend to. Central has to find you a team, a bunk and a basic introduction to our gear." and the two left the Brig under the watchful eye of XCOM's security personnel and the cameras. Central rubbed his chin. Dunstan would either be a great asset against EXALT as they are... Or would be one hell of a liability. He trusted Sue to make that choice for him, but he'd need backups, just in case.


	12. Red Thorn:Fortiores Una

Time had come again. The Doctor was ordered to continue her project, but as of now, Isara had one job and one job only. Go with Strike-3 out into the line of fire while the doctor prepared the newly-minted Psi-Labs for her tests. She also had to make sure not to die, so packing on some extra laser batteries for her rifle, the girl and her team surged forward into the Skyranger from the Command Deck. The flight was filled with the usual banter, but XCOM's team wasn't going to a cakewalk. Upcoming was an attack on Berlin. Local Bundespolizei and GSG-9 troops were dealing with a lot of incoming aliens.

It wasn't a terror attack, as much as an attack on a _Bundespolizei_ training base. The GSG-9 were holding, waiting for XCOM and maintaining a perimeter in wait for the Aliens that deployed not to scatter into the city and cause panic. And it also seemed the Council had a hand in this. Armin's partially burned face still bore a grin as he checked his Gatling Laser. This _was_ his home, after all. Hamburg, Germany...

As the bird came to a grinding landing, the XCOM operatives of Strike-3, now with 3-6, or PFC Selvaria, added to their ranks, marched off, to the sight of the GSG-9 Corps, among which a woman wearing rather casual clothing under her gear. Blonde hair escaped from behind a balaclava and a helmet with a bulletproof shield that was raised. She had a SIG SG-550 with a short barrel, angled forward grip, laser sight and an ACOG scope. The rifle, 5,56, wasn't powerful enough to punch through whatever the aliens had unless it was Sectoids...

"Greetings and welcome back to Germany, Operatives." The woman spoke to the XCOM Operatives with a hidden smile, as evidenced by the creases in the balaclava "Wish it was under better circumstances than another Xeno attack, but what can you do?" She then shrugged... She squinted as she noticed Isara and Selvaria, before looking to Jack with the grin still hidden under the balaclava.

"Captain Weiss... Long time no see." Jack offered as he readied his own rifle.

"Just Monika to you, Jack." The girl noted, then looked to the giddy Jap and said "Good to see you too, Aya." before gasping as the schoolgirl hugged her tight. She laughed heartily, patting the Jap on the head, before turning and leading the squad through a barricaded position overlooking the now-occupied station ahead. A two-story building, with a possible underground parking lot. And a whole lot of nasty aliens. Some of the GSG-9 Sharpshooters seemed antsy, their Snipers aimed for the building's windows in hope something would pop its head out.

"So, what's the situation?" Selvaria asked with a hint of worry, as she saw an Ambulance, its crew of paramedics in red and green treating Policemen that were probably burned by Alien plasma. The GSG-9 Captain cocked her head back and said "Hostages..." making Strike-3, save for Isara and Selvaria, stop in their tracks. The lady turned to them, hands gripping her rifle.

"What?" Jack asked, frowning. "Why'd nobody tell XCOM there'd be hostages?"

"Ayys don't take hostages, _Frau Kapitan."_ Voss said fairly certainly, readying his weapon.

"... They didn't before today... We don't know what changed, but... Reports say there were men with them. Carrying G36Cs. At least Twelve hostile humans in the Command Room." Monica sighed deeply. "You probably know more about the sons-of-bitches inside than I do, but they've got armaments and gear similar to our own here on the ground. G36Cs, fragmentation grenades and other heavy-impact ballistics. It's why some of my men are this antsy about the situation..."

"Did they come from the inside, then? Let the aliens in?" Jack demanded, aware of what the woman was speaking...

"Fucking EXALT..." Armin growled lowly. "Traitors, the lot of'em! They're working with the ayys!"

"Yes... They are... A local official was visiting the local police and our GSG crew stationed here when the sons of bitches busted out their guns and shot up the place... Six of my men died in the first volley. I took one down, but..." The woman said, before unzipping her bulletproof vest and lifting the hoodie from underneath, to reveal a bandage soaked in blood over the left side of her toned belly. She slid the cover back down, before saying "We managed to get to the armory and retrieve our gear, but two of my men got caught while covering us. They're with the official and what lives of his retinue in the Command Post."

"We'll get'em out." Jack offered. "This is why the Council called up Strike-3... 5, got any breaching charges with you?"

"I can create some makeshift ones, but that'd involve losing the Grenades I have." Isara noted.

"Won't be needed. We got plenty over here... Just look out, half of our armory was still there when I left. For all I know, they've got access to a lot of armor plating." Monika offered.

"We got lasguns, _Frau._ " Armin grinned. "I think Kevlar ain't gonna stand a chance against this."

"Then try not to make too much of a mess..." The woman nodded "Cleanup will be a pain in the ass."

"Aye. No worries." Aya grinned, racking her laser scattergun's pump maliciously. "We got the fuggin ayys. You come over when Salty Eggs gotta boil."

"... What the hell did she just say?" Monika raised a brow... And half the squad laughed, among which Joana silently. Jack gave a nod to Joana, who nodded back, before setting up next to the nearby sharpshooters and looking down her holographic scope... She locked onto a window just as an EXALT Soldier walked past it... And Jack gave her the all-clear to shoot. A Laser bolt burst through the air, somehow managed to punch through the window and struck the human right through the side of the skull, bursting open the bone casing and boiling the brain. It splattered against the white wall to the right as the corpse fell, out of sight.

"I got topside covered..." Joana offered. "Go take them out from the inside."

"Roger that. You heard the lady." Jack said to his squad, readying his laser weapon. The squad piled out, under watch of the GSG-9, with Selvaria seemingly worried. Isara looked to her, then gave her a nod, which the lady returned graciously, readying her laser weapon. They went underneath, down the road that led to the parking space, before taking cover by the side of a security door...

The Medic gave their engineer a nod, to which the girl stood up and planted the breaching charge, before taking cover beside the door. She handed Jack the detonator as everyone else stacked up beside them, including Selvaria. He looked to everyone and raised his hand, asking for readiness. Everyone gave thumbs-up... And Jack flicked the detonator. The loud bang sent the door crashing, broken in half, inside the building. The squad strolled inside, weapons raised and scanned the surrounding corridor and rooms. A man clad in a black and white suit with body armor underneath, as well as an orange tie, mask and glasses, stepped out, holding a G36... His skull was punched in by a beam of Laser coming from Jack's rifle.

A Sectoid tottered toward them from another room, apparently a hint scared, before the next laser shot, this one from Isara, sent it tumbling to the floor, its pistol detonating. The squad poured in, taking up positions and forming a perimeter as they scanned the rooms that their two foes came out from. Aya took the left room, where the EXALTee came from...

"FUC-" was what little Aya could get out before she ducked into cover. A wave of 5,56 rounds punched through the wall beside the girl and some rounds harmlessly pinged off her Carapace armor. While the rounds were easily defeated by the more powerful Carapace armor, the burp of the gun was nothing to shrug at. Aya panted, then swore in Japanese and said "Bastards have a Gatling across that doorway! We need a frag!"

Isara nodded, then stepped up to the box, pulled out one of her two frag grenades, yanked the pin off and threw the grenade inside, before ducking into cover beside Aya as another wave of bullets thundered into the hallway. The grenade's explosion sounded off and dust kicked up around the squad, but as Aya peeked inside, she found that the man was still alive, if wounded and without armor... What was before her was a man clad in heavy EOD and kevlar plates, with a gas mask and helmet. His muscles bulged and pulsed, exposed... His skin was greening, sickly pale and with EXALT Tattoos all across the now-exposed left arm...

"Mother of fu..." She murmured, eyes wide, before a laser shot burst beside her ear and struck the Minigun-toting motherfucker clean through the head. Selvaria's aim was as good as Isara remembered it... But Aya didn't appreciate the close call, swiveling about and yelling "Warn me next time, please! You nearly gave me a fucking heart attack!" to which the Silver-haired woman gave a simple, unassuming nod, her scarlet eyes staring down the scope of her Laser Rifle.

Jack took position next to the doorway through which the Sectoid had come through and peeked, sweeping the empty room, what was once the GSG-9 base's primary server, only to see it littered with the corpses of dead Policemen and another hallway. He looked to everyone, then said "We split up. I and 3 will go this way. 2, you, 5 and 6 are going through to the top. We meet when we meet. Keep in contact and watch your crosshairs."

"Roger." The team nodded. Jack gave the all-clear and the group scattered, with Aya leading the trio of badass gals currently inside the building. They entered the underground parking lot, where multiple cars were located, some of which were damaged by Plasma fire. Several half-burnt corpses lay on the floor ahead, having run away from what seemed to be an Alien greeting party. The girls took position and Isara peeked over the car she and Selv took cover behind, to see a squad of Mutons and a pair of Thin Mints...

"Aw, Hell..." Aya whispered "Ayys brought in some heavy guns... Yo, Jack..." She whispered into com. She got a single click as an answer, then said "Found a Pod... Two Thins and three of the big motherfuckers... Permission to engage?" She then asked with a wry grin... Two clicks... Go ahead... She looked to Isara, gave the girl a signal. 'Anti-Personnel'. Isara nodded, grinning, stowed her rifle and pulled out a cylindrical grenade that XCOM had been using since the start of the war... What basically stood out as a grenade with a multitude of Armor-Piercing 'Needles' that could kill a lot of aliens, or at least maim them enough to be easier targets to XCOM.

Thankfully, they had the element of surprise and a load of bunched aliens now. Selv peeked over, set her Laser rifle onto the trunk of the car she was hid behind, opposite the two girls, then nodded, zeroing in on one of the Thin Men's disturbingly heads. Isara pulled the Pin, then stood up, cocked her right hand back, pointed forth with the left and threw... The grenade bounced off the roof at a perfect angle, landing in-between the confused Mutons and surprised Thin Men... And then all hell broke loose as several alloy-reinforced shards punched through the armor of the creatures. One of the Thin Men died instantly, a cloud of noxious gas enveloping its compatriot and the Mutons...

Selvaria's shot went wide as the Thin Man scattered for cover, followed by the Mutons.

A flurry of Plasma was the answer to the fire-branding given by the girls, though Aya, under the car, could see faint traces of yellowish blood from the ayys. Plasma charred the walls behind them, but Isara and Aya were unfazed. Selvaria was ducking for her life, firing back from underneath the car and missing horribly... As the wave of Plasma stopped, Aya looked to Isara, gave a nod and showed her to give cover. Isara nodded, peeked over the front. A burst of laser fire missed a Muton, but sent it into cover as Aya ran forward, jumping over a car and sliding onto the hood of another, before swiveling about, raising her shotgun to the face of a Muton... And blasting its face into fine yellow mist.

She repositioned, jumping behind a concrete pillar as Plasma washed over it, before racking the bolt of her weapon. Isara raised her rifle and aimed it at another Muton, before firing. The scarlet beam punched through a weak spot in the armor, sending the alien staggering, wounded, but alive. Selvaria followed up with a second shot... That thankfully didn't miss either, further wounding the Muton.

The Thin Man peeked and aimed. A plasma round flew by Isara's ear and in response, a laser beam sent the Thin Mint back into cover. Selvaria sighed, kneeling herself. Isara looked to the woman, then showed her to go around as she would cover. And Selv nodded, before Blue-Hair peeked back over and let a laser shot out just as that same Muton she and the General had wounded popped back up... With clean aim, she cut the bastard down, sending the corpse tumbling to the floor.

Laser Fire cut through the air again as the Thin Man that aimed for her fell, its head bursting like a balloon from the heated multi-beam of energy. Aya peeked over from her cover, grinning and gave Isara a thumbs up. The blue-haired, shoal-wearing girl gave a smile and nod, before sliding across the car and joining the girls in pressing the offensive.

Pushing over toward the third and final Muton, Isara drew her third Grenade. Launching the Frag, the girl rolled forward into Cover as it exploded, before standing up and snapping off a shot right into the creature's face. It staggered... And Aya's shotgun finished it off... The body collapsed to the floor as the trio of girls met back up and reloaded weapons, before nodding and smiling to each-other.

Aya flicked her com on, then said "Actual, we've secured the Parking Lot. Coming up to assist."

" _Copy. We just met the rest of the EXALT crew. Watch your fire, Friendly GSG-9 in the AO_." Jack warned. The girls moved up to the second floor, to meet the EXALT Threat from behind, luckily enough. As they emerged from a stairwell, Isara raised her Laser Rifle, scoped in an EXALT Operative and snapped off a shot, hitting him right in the leg and sending him tumbling to the floor, where his Suicide Syringe broke into pieces... Selvaria's own rifle crackled and a round slashed across a man's spine, killing him instantly... Bullets then hit a third, sent forth by the GSG-9... And finally, the team got to the Hostage... A local councilman...

 ** _COUNCIL OPERATION:RED THORN DEBRIEFING_**

 ** _MISSION ACCOMPLISHED_**

 ** _SQUAD STATUS:0 WOUNDS SUSTAINED. 0 CASUALTIES SUSTAINED..._**

 ** _VIP STATUS:SECURED_**

 ** _GSG-9 OPERATIVE STATUS:SECURED  
_**

 ** _EXALT OPERATIVE CAPTURED. INTERROGATION ORDER ACTIVE IMMEDIATE.  
_**

 ** _CO BRADFORD'S POST-OP NOTES:Sue's in for the long interrogation of the EXALT op. Hopefully, we'll get some good info out of him, but we all know how they are... I have now put forth the paperwork for the promotion of Operative Bradley to Officer status. Rank:Second Lieutenant. CPL. Gunther will require a nickname, which I'll let the squad decide upon... And Specialist Bles has officially been given her class. Rocketeer._**

 ** _A lot of walls are gonna go down come today... Vengeful Pyre, now this... XCOM won't be in the shadows for much longer, I feel._**


	13. As I Figure

**_XCOM Recreational Area_**

Isara found herself sitting in the Rec Room of the Anthill, watching as Construction workers finished the barracks expansion. Radar had been quiet for a good few days now, so XCOM now decided to make things a little bit more welcoming... The finishing touches came in the form of a separate game room that contained sets of consoles with... Possibly _hundreds_ of games for each. She smiled at the thought of a new set of Televisions, games and such...

She turned her head, toward the bar, to see Jack and Aya approaching her with soft drinks. Meanwhile, Armin and Joana were seated on a nearby couch, waiting for their own drinks to arrive. The girl arranged her shoal and took her drink from Jack's hand, before saying "What is it?" and Jack answering "Soda." as they walked to the table and sat themselves down on the couches. After distributing the drinks, Armin took his beer in hand and chugged down half of it in one go, before putting it down and grinning while a mess of beer foam hanged over his nose.

Aya chuckled, then pointed out "You got a foam 'stache there, Jerry-Boy." before taking a sip out of her warm Sake. Armin rolled his eyes, then wiped his mouth while muttering something to himself. The Romanian sniper sat beside him hunched over to grab her own drink-a shot of some local Romanian brew-off the table. Apparently she'd requisitioned some of this stuff a while back... She downed the glass's icy contents, then set the thing down and leaned back, staring at Jack and Isara. She made a motion between them, then shrugged at Jack... He raised a brow. Joana waved it off, chuckling silently.

Isara and Jack exchanged glances, then shrugged... Joana couldn't help but shake her head. Oblivious as could be, those two kids were. Aya bumped Is in the shoulder with her fist, before watching as she turned and offered her some Sake. "Taste it. Trust me, it's good." The Jap smirked... Isara reluctantly took the glass in her hand and sniffed the warm, liquid content... The faint smell of Alcohol was present, but it... Didn't feel like it was too much. She shrugged, then took a sip... And immediately coughed it out, her face turning beet red.

Jack went to tend to her, before staring with his most unusually annoyed deadpan look ever at Aya. The girl laughed a bit, slapping Isara on the back and said "It's good, right?"

"It is..." Isara coughed again, once and rather violently... "Ugh, but it's strong too..."

Aya's brows quirked up as she asked "Strong? Is, this is some of the weakest Sake I ever drank." with a hint of dismay. "Lemme guess, you weren't much of a drinker?" to which Isara shook her head... Aya sighed, rolling her eyes, then said "If I ever have a chance to leave this place, I'll get ya over to Flagstaff for a day..." as a wry grin formed on her face. "Gonna have to teach you how to hold yer alcohol, missy."

"Aya." Jack said... And that was enough to make the girl back down... But 3-Actual continued nonetheless "Isara's a 16-year-old. I don't think putting her on a binge-drinking spree is a good idea. Both for being illegal in the US to give drinks to anyone below 21 and for her own health." before leaning in and taking a sip of his own drink. A soft drink named Cola, as far as Isara recalled...

Aya got a more catty, daredevil grin on her face, before asking "Well, chief, why don't'cha drink stronger stuff then?"

Jack looked to her yet again in a deadpan. "Age, Aya." and turned back to nursing his own drink... A few moments of silence occupied the table while Isara recovered from her little bout of alcohol-induced coughing, whilst also nursing her own orange soda. Some kind of off-brand version of Fanta, as Aya was kind enough to point out while Is was sipping it.

... Aya groaned, leaning her head back onto the couch's soft pillows and staring up at the ceiling... Everyone ignored her the first time. The second time, when she started fiddling with her fingers while muttering something was, yet again, ignored... Third time, when she simply yelled out "I'M BORED." and turned to Isara, a bit red-faced "Is? Wanna go test out the new consoles?"

"Sure. Why not?" Isara shrugged, then stood up.

"Have fun." Jack said, watching them walk off toward the Consoles. After they got after earshot, he muttered "Hope Isara doesn't mind pity losing..."

Armin snorted "C'mon, Jack... We both know Aya can beat her."

"She nearly beat Central's High Score." Jack returned blandly. "That's a feat and a half." and he leaned forward. Armin smirked, leaning forward too, then offered "Say, Lieutenant. How about we make a little wager about this one, then?" and, seeing he caught Jack's attention, the Kraut continued "If I win, I get to pick the nicknames for you and Isara, since you haven't gotten yours yet."

"And if I win?" Jack raised a brow.

"Same deal, but for me and Aya." He gave a nod, then extended his hand "Whaddaya say, Jack?"

The boy took a moment of reluctance, then shook Armin's hand. Joana, meanwhile, was simply enjoying the show as the two stepped off to the gaming lounge to look at what the girls were playing. The Romanian sniper sighed, standing up and going to return the empty glasses to the bartender. The man quipped about her teammates and how rowdy they were and she simply grinned at him..

Joana'd been around for long enough in XCOM to know how things usually ran around the bend. Didn't mean she wouldn't enjoy the little duel between the head weeb and the head engineer of the team. She elected, however, to stay out of this little bout of friendly battle between them, going to the small library also located within the Recreational Area for her own benefit.

A while later, with a triumphant-looking Jack(despite his face still not showing any emotion) and a sore loser of an Armin, with the girls trailing them, the Romanian sniper smirked, standing up and putting down the book she'd been reading, before stepping up in front of them. Armin spoke "Not. A word." to which Joana chuckled silently, shrugging, as the group went back to the dorms. She lagged behind and elbowed Isara and Aya.

"'Sup, Jo?" Aya raised a brow.

The sniper waved Isara forward a bit, as if she wanted to talk personally to Aya. Isara smiled, then stepped up beside the boys and Joana whispered to Aya "Did you see how the Chief acts around Isara? Protectiveness and all that?" to which Aya grinned, nodded and whispered back "I saw it the moment they met... There's a spark!" with the most giddy tone she damn well could take.

"Wonder if we can set a date up for them, somehow." Joana smirked, already getting several ideas in her head.

"Jo, I know that look..." Aya smirked. "And I love it."

"Think we can rope Armin and Bles into this somehow?" The Romanian raised a brow. She got a shaken head from Aya and the answer "Selv probably wouldn't do it as not to intervene in Is's life and Armin's... Armin." words to which Joana nodded. She was right, more than likely. Humming and tapping her lower lip, Jo sighed... They'd have to figure something out either before or after the next op...

As they walked into their dorm, Armin plopped himself down in his bed, then said "I think I'll take a nap, chief." to which Jack hummed. A ping on his personal datapad alerted him of an incoming message... Doctor Vahlen. She'd asked for Isara in Sublevel 04... The new Psionics Lab, the Lieutenant presumed. Looking to the girl, he said "Isara. Doctor Vahlen wants to see you downstairs... C'mon."

"Right." Isara stood up... Time to find out the thing...

Aya and Jo exchanged glances and Aya hid her grin behind her tablet. Jo shook her head and continued to read, allowing the two to leave unabated. As the duet of the youngest XCOM operatives to grace the project walked toward the Elevators, Isara looked at Jack for a moment... Truth be told, a moment was all that it took. They barely had a moment's rest since Isara came to their world. Well, for them. She couldn't really interact with Jack all that much... Handsome was something one would usually describe a good-looking male with. It fit Jack to a tee...

Isara hadn't had much time to think about her situation either, since the squad showed up. Jack was always there, by her side, as was the rest of the team, helping her through it all. Jack was also right there when they first found her... He helped her through, stood by her as she met Central and was with her after Vengeful Pyre... During the sickbay trip... Feeling blood rush to her cheeks, the girl failed to suppress a blush and yelped. Eyes wide, she looked away from Jack just as the boy looked at her. He raised a brow, then asked "Are you okay?"

"I-I'm fine..." Is said with a slight stutter. Her voice cracked out of embarrassment. Oh, God... Jack turned toward her as they stopped in the elevator, then leaned forward a bit and placed a hand on her forehead... With another yelp, the girl wanted to ask what he was doing, but... Kind of found herself lost in his eyes for a moment. Swallowing air, the girl looked on as Jack stared, concern visible in his eyes...

"You're burning up... Did you catch a cold?" Jack asked, brow raised as he backed off. She quickly shook her head, then looked away... WHY WAS THIS BECOMING LIKE ONE OF AYA'S ANIME!?

... Sighing to calm herself down as they arrived at the level for the Psionics lab, they stepped off and entered into a large hall that contained three pods. An eerie, lilac light shined above them and steam seemed to emanate from the pods... Vahlen hummed, tapping a few lines of code into her tablet as she walked in, then said "Miss Isara, Jack. I see you've just arrived." And she activated one of the pods, before turning to Isara and saying "This is a Psionic Pod. It's where I will be testing you for a potential... Power... That may have activated during Vengeful Pyre. Don't worry, it isn't invasive... Please, step inside."

Isara nodded, worriedly turning to Jack. He gave her a nod back and the girl took a deep breath, before stepping up to and climbing inside the pod... Restraints locked around her wrists, which made her heart skip a beat and Vahlen reassured her "It will be fine..." as the pod began to close... Isara stared at darkness within seconds... Then... She felt a faint pulse run through her. Her head slightly ached...

She closed her eyes and saw... A faint lilac light. And felt a feeling in the back of her head... Her mind was now empty. Devoid of any thought save for getting to know what was going on. She tried to focus, but her head began to throb... Pain coursed through her temples and into the brain and, despite not being able to hear it, the girl was pretty sure she screamed out in pain... It was that bad... And in the faint darkness, she saw traces, moving... Purple lights, strewn about... And darkness... It hurt... It hurt too much! IT HURT!

The pod unlatched and opened... The Restraints dropped. And Isara felt herself fall into Jack's arms. She trembled, her breathing heavy, ragged. She grabbed onto Jack's shirt, gripping it tightly as tears began to stream down her face. Vahlen came down, put her datapad on the floor and looked at Isara, pushing her hair aside... She sighed, then said "Neurosynaptic response was irregular, but the effects became too severe before I could get a proper reading... I don't know what happened Isara, but, for a first test, this went... Awful. I'm so sorry."

"It's... Fine, doc..." Isara choked out... "Do you... Have anything for the pain?"

Vahlen gave her a small analgesic shot to the side of the neck, before asking "Do you wish to give up? I can go back to theoretical research..." and saw the girl take a moment to ponder this. Isara knew that, if her strange arrival to Earth had anything to do with these Psionics, then what else could she do? Vahlen saw her look turn from pain to a ragged bit of determination... Isara shook her head...

"No..." The girl sighed as she felt the pain go away... And the analgesic kick in. "If... I have to..." Her speech slightly slurred "If this is how I get home, Doctor..." She leaned more and more on Adrian "I'll go through as much pain as needed..." And... She fainted in his arms. The boy looked to the Doctor as she stared with worry at the young girl... Her willpower matched her determination...

She nodded to Jack and said to him "Take her to the bunks... No need for Medical unless things get worse." calmly... Jack nodded, then hefted the girl up, to carry her with both hands. Vahlen snorted as she remembered something, then said "Also! The Analgesic may knock her out for a few minutes at best!" with a smile as he walked away. Jack was probably too far by this point to hear it.

... Isara slowly started to regain consciousness... How long had she been out for...? She needed to-Why did she feel SKIN? Running her hand up what she felt, the girl soon found herself touching actual human skin and hard muscle. Pursing her lips and tracing a path from the collarbone that she touched up to the face of the man carrying her with her eyes, Isara's eyes went wide...

... And, well, she somehow managed to contain herself from screaming at the highest pitch she could as Jack hauled her over toward the bunks... Weird. She thought he'd be taking her to Medical... Unless Doc Vahlen specified otherwise. The girl felt tingles in her stomach and her blush soon returned as her hand traced a path down Jack's chest, onto his arms and... Oh, God, how toned was this boy?

"Uhm... Is?" Jack spoke... Isara yelped and nearly let out a scream, retracting her hand and looking with embarrassment at Jack... He seemed a bit worried as he asked "Is the headache gone?" before Isara nodded. Obviously, the boy relaxed a bit... "Can you walk?" He then asked... Isara pondered it for a moment. Should she say yes and be put down or...? Nah. She shook her head, right hand covering her cheeks... Jack hummed, then nodded "Alright..." Before walking into the bunks. Strike-3's room to be exact...

And Aya's blood-curdling pterodactyl screech sent Is nearly to the floor as the Japanese girl started spouting things in her native language. Questions, from the sound of things. She moved around Jack and Isara with the happiest look on her face and clearly misinterpreting the situation... Joana shook her head and wagged her finger at Jack, all whilst bearing a grin on her face. Temper, Temper, Jackie-boy.

The boy set Isara down on her bunk, then went to sit down in his own, sighing deeply... He looked to her and she looked to him... He gave her left-side smile, nodding to her and making her heart skip a beat again... She nodded back, smiling weakly, before putting herself under her covers and hiding her head while her Japanese friend kept question dumping in a language no one but her understood...

Could this day just be over...?


	14. The Black Wolf

**_XCOM HQ Flight Deck_**

As the alarms for UFO Contact blared overhead, three pilots scrambled to their jets to counter 3 incoming Ayy aircraft moving Nap of The Earth and in formation. Among them was Flight Lieutenant "Eightball" Lucerno, or RAVEN-1. Dashing forward, the Lead of the squadron climbed the ladder to the launch pad of his own Raven Interceptor and entered the cockpit. The aircraft's console lit up as he activated systems and subsystems... He was one of the first to test out a new armament for the Interceptors and Air Game. Looking over to his left wing, he saw a pod with a wonky-looking Chain Gun on the gimbal mount. It had tiny coils wrapped around each barrel that would magnetize to push a caseless 20mm round out of the business end...

Gauss Weapons, Doc Shen nicknamed them. The Pilot put his helmet on, slid the visor onto his face and locked his O2 mask in place, before speaking into Com "Central, this is Eightball. Ravens 1, 3 and 6 are preparing to take off and engage Bogeys 10, 11 and 12." before watching as the launch pad shifted itself into position. He maxed out thrust and said "All Ravens, maintain formation until we engage the bastards."

" _Roger_!" Raven-3, a female pilot, replied.

" _Got you covered, sir._ " The second pilot, Raven 6, answered calmly. The aircraft both shifted into launch position and, with a click, the pads catapulted them out through the open hatches, surging into the air and banking to the left, to both level off and enter formation. The three-pilot group aligned into a wedge formation, with Eightball leading at the front... The trio of aircraft boosted engines, entering MACH-5 as their radars pinged the incoming UFOs. They must've pinged them right back...

The trio of UFOs shifted course suddenly, heading toward the trio of Ravens...

"Shit..." Eightball muttered. "Master Arm, on! Engaged in 5 seconds!" He then called out over coms... He saw emerald lights come from under the UFOs... Wisps of fire washed overhead of the trio of Ravens and Eightball felt heat prick at his skin, but nothing melted and nothing was hit, luckily for the trio of Ravens. His Heads-Up Display lit up as the tracking for the Gun Pod started. He locked onto the middle dot as it came closer and closer... Before squeezing the trigger.

The aircraft shuddered and conical shards of superheated depleted Uranium left the barrels of the minigun. Around 110 rounds escaped in the one-second burst, all heading for the same target. The cloud of bullets struck true and the first UFO's armor was littered with bullet holes, but it still flew... The other two UFOs changed courses, one moving up and one down. Eightball followed his own target flying over him and overshooting, before saying "Break formation and intercept!"

He spun his aircraft about as his two Squadron mates turned to take their own targets on. The hard bank left managed to get him back onto the tail of the enemy aircraft. He saw the Plasma lines heat again and a wave of heat passed underneath his bird, but no luck in hitting him. He locked his eyes onto the vehicle and the gimbal-mounted Gun tracked. He still had around 690 rounds. In one second bursts, those would go out pretty fast...

Keeping his eyes locked onto his enemy, the pilot let loose another hail of rounds. This time, two seconds passed before he let go of the trigger. Many of the rounds missed, but some managed to puncture the hull of the enemy bird yet again. And yet again, in response, boulders of fire were flung at him from the ship's underside. He banked to the right and tried to evade. The round clipped his underbelly and disabled some of the electronics, boiling away armor, but he was still in flight.

The enemy flyer changed course and tried to boost away, its engines flaring green and red. It trailed smoke... Eightball rearranged himself and tailed the bastard as it dived, before spinning up the Chain Gun again. The weapon roared and the volley struck the target. Multiple rounds cut through the armor, sending the enemy craft barreling toward the ground. It struck the harsh desert landscape of California and skidded to a halt next to a cliffside... Eightball had enough time to call in "Central! Be advised! Enemy bird's out of the air but is almost in one piece! You may wanna send in a recovery team!"

" _We heard you, Eightball. Strike-3 is being prepared to deploy._ " Central spoke calmly.

"I'll engage the other two! Eightball, out!"

And just as he turned to join 3 and 6 in combat, he heard a panicked cry for help " _This is Six! I'm getting tailed by both of the remaining bastards and I've suffered severe damage! I'M LOSING CONTR-"_ and then static... A thundering explosion came from one of the mountainsides below and Eightball swore as he saw the crashed Raven. No chute... Poor kid. No time to mourn now though.

Following 3 were a pair of angry angry UFOs, one of which was severely damaged and its hull was scorched, probably from Six's missiles. The man took the golden opportunity, spinning his gun up and pressing the trigger. He must've hit a fuel line, because the enemy aircraft burst ablaze and detonated with green fire, washing over the second one with enough force to make it lose its track on Three. He watched Three power off her engines and hit flaps. The UFO Overshot her... And she locked onto the target. Two missiles flew from her undercarriage and struck true, both detonating inside the UFO.

Eightball's gun revved again and the last rounds of ammo were quickly exhausted. The enemy vehicle sparked as Lucerno aimed center-mass and one of its lateral plasma lines tried to spout out another blast of energy, but the plasma struck three instead of him... The girl's bird still flew. And she was pissed... Two more missiles, the last in her armament, detonated into the UFO. It exploded and shattered itself to bits, its husk tumbling to the sands...

"Nice flying, Three..." Eightball managed to let out a breath he'd been holding for a while. "Central, this is Raven-1. I'm coming home with 3... Be advised, Raven Six has been lost."

" _Roger... Welcome home, Ravens."_ Central said solemnly... There'd be time for mourning later...

Meanwhile, back on the Flight Deck, Strike-3 marched to the Skyranger, weapons in hand. Among them, Armin, Isara and Joana hauled a trio of prototypes from XCOM's own arsenal of new weapons. The Magnetic accelerators of the weapons made them somewhat bulkier in design to the Laser Rifles' simple black forms. The weapons whirred and sputtered as their Mag Coils heated and activated... Isara kept her gaze locked onto the ammo counter mounted into the side. 32 rounds in one magazine.

Joana slid a single round into the bolt of her own rifle:The Alloy Sniper. A single-shot weapon that meant Joana had to reload the weapon after every shot. She had attached a bipod to it, as it was such a lengthy weapon. Meanwhile, Armin hauled a Magnetic Light Machine Gun. The weapon was bulky, rounded at the barrel and had a bipod, Scope and Laser sight attached to it.

Jack and the others, meanwhile, hauled Laser Weapons. Joana, however, was clad in lighter, Kestrel armor. She had a grappling hook, as usual... Actual turned to the trio hauling Mag Weapons and said "Doc Vahlen and Doc Shen asked you to test out these weapons on the field. Far as they said, you should expect heavy recoil." as they sat themselves down.

The trio nodded and Isara looked over her belt, checking the grenades. Three HE Grenades and two AP Grenades, as well as an Arc Thrower, per Doc Vahlen's request to capture an Outsider, would have to do the trick. She racked the bolt of her rifle, a hint of worry in her gaze... Within a few minutes, the Skyranger had touched down not too far from the crash site. It was bright out today and the scorching heat of the desert struck the soldiers as they exited the air-conditioned vehicle. They were on a ridge a good dozen feet higher than where the ET ship had crashed... The rounded, disk-like craft missed part of the armor facing them and was definitely bigger than the other UFOs. The valley and the cliff edge it landed to, however... Seemed they were in an area of the Grand Canyon...

The team expected contacts...

And as fire came up from the valley in the form of a volley of Plasma Fire, they got the contacts they wanted. A pod of 5 Mutons advanced toward them from below, shifting from rocky cover to rocky cover. Jack looked to Joana and gave the Deadshot sniper a hand signal... The woman nodded, shifted and ran, kicking up dust, before she skidded to a halt next to a rather jagged rock and shouldered her rifle.

Isara moved toward the first piece of cover she could see, taking a knee and peeking over it to see the group of Mutons advancing slowly. Their plasma rifles belched green fire that slammed into and melted the front portion of her cover. Hearing the crackle of a beam of laser fire, Isara shifted her gaze toward Selvaria, to see the woman, newly acquainted with her occupation as a Rocketeer, holding close a Laser Carbine. The shot slashed over the aliens's heads, heating the rock floor below them and boiling sand into glass...

Jack joined in, shouldering his Laser Rifle and firing a shot that clipped the lead alien's collar, forcing him into cover. Armin then followed up by placing the Gauss LMG on top of whatever cover he could find, extending the bipod and shouldering it. After a squeeze of the trigger and the deafening thunder of the LMG, the Gunner felt his aim nearly get thrown off, but he managed to stand his ground and readjust... The heavy, high-speed alloy-jacketed 7,62 rounds peppered the Aliens' cover and punched through it. One of the Mutons staggered, yellow blood seeping through three bullet holes in its abdomen... It roared, but the raucous thunder of Joana's Sniper sent it tumbling to the floor. The weapon clicked and the woman loaded another round into the chamber, eyeing the other Mutons.

A wave of plasma washed over Selvaria's cover, forcing her to duck as the heat pricked at the skin on her arms and face. She chose to wear phalanx armor for this mission... And she felt like that was a mistake. A bolt of Plasma flew over her head just as she was about to peek out, but she shifted herself into a better position as the alien suppressed her...

"New Contacts, coming in on the left!" Jack called out, gazing down the sights of his Laser Rifle...

"FUCK! BUGS!" Aya finished off in an almost panicked tone, racking the pump on her Scatter Laser.

Isara gasped as she heard the skittering of talons against the red rocks. Isara saw the grotesque, purple-colored, chitinous bodies of the bugs emerge. Their mandibles clicked together and their venomous spit dribbled onto the ground, they twitched, golden-shining eyes glaring at them like pray to be eaten... Or hives. Isara stood up and aimed at the bugs, squeezing the trigger... A burst of scarlet-shining projectiles escaped the muzzle. Five rounds. Two hit the ground, a third hit and took apart a rock behind which a Muton hid and the last two punctured the chitin hide of one of the bugs... It raised its clicking jaws and cried bloody murder at them, before it and its compatriots began to skitter ahead at full speed...

Armin swore in German, calling out to Jack "CHANGING TARGETS!" and shifting from suppressing the Mutons to firing on the bugs.

"Six! Give me a rocket on those Mutons! NOW!" Jack ordered, raising his Laser Rifle and taking aim... Selvaria followed orders, slinging the carbine onto her back, drawing the rocket launcher, extending the tube in the back and taking the safety off. She stood up out of cover... The woman called out "CLEAR BACKBLAST!" before aligning the end of the tube to the center of the Muton squad and squeezing... Smoke belched out of the back of the launcher and the rocket's engine roared, pushing the explosive warhead forward. Fins expanded as the missile made way to its target.

The ensuing explosion tore apart the aliens' cover and the shrapnel punctured their armor, making them stagger. Jack's laser rifle hissed and crackled and a beam of energy punched a lucky hole into one of the Mutons' skulls, sending him tumbling and reducing their number to 3 out of the 5-ayy team. Isara wanted to pop out and drop one herself, but found herself crying for help as two rounds of high-intensity, very focused plasma struck the chest plate of her armor. She gasped, her heart stopping for a good three seconds, then she looked to the sides of the Valley and cried out "THIN MAN SNIPERS, ON THE LEFT AND RIGHT RIDGES!"

"Four!" Jack called out, moving to Isara.

"Mhm." Joana answered, shifting her aim. The rifle roared once and a puff of green poisonous fumes appeared on the left. The rifle barked again and the second cloud of noxious gas made itself known. Below them, two Thin Man corpses, large holes in their heads. The woman then shifted her aim toward the Mutons below as they regained their composure. Plasma began yet again to fly toward their cover and the ET Bugs also jumped toward Aya... But the girl was ready.

She welcomed the three bugs with three distinct scatter laser shots and a grin on her face. The heated, focused blasts sent the creatures collapsing to the floor before even one got to raise its talons against the Jap. The girl then drew her laser pistol and fired a single shot as she noticed a Sectoid trying to sneak behind them. The laser shot scratched some stone in front of the little bugger... She swore "Shit... Actual, Sectoid and possible flanking unit on our left! They've either all left the UFO or they _really_ want us dead!"

"Must be protecting something quite important aboard that bird, then..." Jack said, helping Isara up. "You alright?"

"Could've been worse..." The girl said, trying not to touch the heated front plate... "The Thin Man missed my head, at least..." She quipped, trying to make light of nearly dying... Again... Her heart was skipping beats and she was bone-white from the scare.

Jack gave her a nod and worried look, before saying "Give me a Frag on the Mutons."

And Isara nodded. Sliding back into her cover, the girl pulled the pin on the grenade and long-armed it... The mutons, however, learned to scatter. Only one was caught in the blast and not even he was severely wounded thanks to being on higher ground... Armin's LMG shifted its line of fire, with the German, now on his third box of ammunition. A squad of six Sectoids and two Drones emerged in clear view of their assailants... The rounds tore through two of the Sectoids and made a drone dip and lose a bit of altitude.

"Six, another Rocket on the Sectoids, if you don't mind..." Jack asked, firing his Laser Rifle at the enemy, but missing the bulbous head of one of the Sectoids narrowly. The response from Selv was the roar of a rocket's engine, followed by the heat death of all but one of the Pod that came to flank them. Joana's rifle barked again and a Muton roared its death cry.

Isara then raised her own Assault Rifle to greet the Mutons, firing a burst into the Mutons... And a wave of fire followed behind her. The last Mutons sound found themselves dead... And Isara watched as Aya executed the last Sectoid with her laser Pistol, before stowing the weapon and approaching the team. Leaning her shotgun on her shoulder and herself against one of the rocks, before asking "So... What now?"

"We go clear the UFO and find out why this entire complement of defenses was so vehement on keeping it from our grasp." Jack spoke calmly. "Eyes open. We might've not cleared out everything..." He then ordered... The team descended down into the valley where the ship had crashed and entered the confines of the damaged vehicle. The center was walled off and the walls were thick... Thick enough that not even explosives could go through them.

"Gotta remember there's also the fuckin' Sidereal Fags around here, Actual... Gotta be careful when we get to the bridge." Armin spoke calmly, guarding the back, while Aya took point. Jack wanted to respond... But the noise of a handgun being fired inside and Plasma being the response made him freeze... Isara stopped too, mouth agape... And Selvaria hummed... Single shot, loud... A grin formed on her face.

The team moved into the center of the place, to find three Outsiders-AKA Sidereal Fags, to Sergeant Voss-that were Blissfully unaware of their location... Isara noticed an operating table dead in the center of the room... And a lock of black hair appeared from behind it, with a scoped rifle. The rifle cracked the air and one of the Outsiders was nicked in the chest enough that his armor flickered... The sound of the racking bolt made Isara remember...

"MARINA!" Isara called out, smiling. The Sniper behind the OR glanced over and her one sightable eye went wide, the left eye being covered by a raven lock of hair... The squad raised their weapons and engaged, with the Outsiders unable to promptly respond. The hail of fire gutted several of the monsters and wounded one enough... Isara ran toward it, got in range and drew the electric pistol, before powering it to full and aiming it center mass... The _zap_ and crackle were followed by the alien's armored form collapsing into the crystal that was its central power... Said Crystal just hovered there until Isara pocketed it... She smiled to the team, all of whom gave thumbs up, before turning to see the Sniper standing up from behind her cover, mouth agape and eyes wide...

"Marina..." Isara smiled, then ran toward the girl, embracing the tall shooter at the waist and saying "I'm so glad to see you!"

"Isara... I..." The sniper hummed, then looked to see the others "I see you've... Made new allies...?"

"Oh, yeah! I gotta introduce you to them! C'mon!" The girl said, tugging at Marina's arm... And now noticing she wasn't wearing a uniform, but rather makeshift ragged underwear gifted by the aliens. Her uniform had been thrown in a heap in the corner... Isara simply backed away with an apology and a healthy blush and let Marina Wulfstan, the Black Wolf of Gallia, to put on her clothes...

... Man, there was gonna be a lot to explain at base...


End file.
